Sourdough Focaccia has officially entered its festive era - and this Sourdough Stollen Focaccia might just be the most joyful bake to ever come out of your kitchen. Soft, fluffy, golden brown and studded with marzipan and brandy-soaked fruit, it combines everything you love about German Stollen with the airy, olive-oil-rich crumb of a simple sourdough focaccia recipe. If you're looking for a show-stopping centrepiece, this Christmas Sourdough Focaccia is the festive bake for you.
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German Stollen Meets Italian Focaccia (All Sourdough, Of Course)
Think of this as a festive fusion: the sweetness, spiced fruitiness and marzipan core of Stollen wrapped inside a soft, pillowy focaccia dough - made entirely with natural ferments from your active sourdough starter. It's a brilliant addition to any Christmas table, a fantastic edible gift and a fun twist on traditional holiday breads.
You may also like to explore my Sourdough Stollen (or Sourdough Stollen Bites) and Sourdough Focaccia Recipes - and don't forget to grab my Sourdough Christmas eBook filled with even more festive favourites.
Christmas Sourdough ebook
Celebrate the holiday season with a unique twist this year with our 24 Christmas Sourdough recipes! Discover the magic of using active sourdough starter, sourdough discard, and leftover baked sourdough bread to create a memorable and flavoursome Christmas feast.
Ingredient Notes
- Strong White Bread Flour. At least 12% protein. This helps create a strong gluten network needed to hold the filling, especially in this high-hydration sourdough. If you must use all-purpose flour, make sure to reduce the amount of water slightly.
- Water. Room temperature or just slightly warm water works best to help kickstart the process of bulk fermentation, especially if your kitchen is cold over winter.
- Active Sourdough Starter. Use a 100% hydration, ripe sourdough starter that has doubled and is bubbly. It's the only leavening power in this recipe (no commercial yeast in sight!).
- Salt & Honey. Honey or sugar speeds up the dough rise slightly and adds better flavour, especially important when pairing with rich fillings.
- Olive Oil. We used extra virgin olive oil (but it's unnecessary). It gives the focaccia dough richness, creates a softer crust and prevents the sourdough from sticking during shaping and dimpling.
- Dried Fruit. We used currants, sultanas and cranberries, but you can experiment with chopped dried apricots and figs.
- Candied Citrus Peel. Signature stollen flavour!
- Brandy or Spiced Rum. Adds warmth and depth. For an alcohol-free option, soak the fruit in warm orange juice.
- Marzipan. The heart of this Christmas focaccia. Cut into small cubes so it distributes evenly.
- Almonds. Chopped, slivered or flaked. Press them deep into the top of the dough to prevent burning.
- Powdered Sugar (Icing Sugar). Essential for that snowy finish.
Find the ingredient quantities, detailed instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step-By-Step Method
Feed Sourdough Starter
First thing in the morning, feed your sourdough starter and leave it in a warm spot to at least double in volume. We typically feed our starter in a ratio of 1 part starter: 1 part water: 1 part flour, and it doubles (or even triples) within 4 hours. If it doesn't, download our FREE Sourdough Starter Troubleshooting guide.
Fermentolyse and Mixing the Dough
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread flour, water and active starter. Mix on the lowest speed for a few minutes until the flour is hydrated and you have a rough dough. Cover and leave the dough to fermentolyse for 1 hour.
2. After resting, add the salt and honey. Drizzle the olive oil over the surface of the dough. Using your hands, squish everything together before switching the mixer back on.
3. Fit the dough hook attachment and knead on medium speed for 10-12 minutes until very smooth and elastic. The dough will be sticky - that's expected for focaccia dough.
Coil Folds, Bulk Fermentation and Cold Fermentation
1. Transfer the dough into a lightly oiled large bowl or shallow dish. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes in a warm spot.
2. Perform a set of coil folds every 30 minutes for 3 hours, letting the dough rest in between.
3. After the final fold, let the dough rise until puffy and bubbly at the edges - usually 1.5-3 hours are needed to finish bulk fermentation, depending on room temperature.
4. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 8-24 hours.
Soak the Fruit
1. Place the dried fruit in a small bowl, pour over the brandy and mix. Cover and leave overnight.
Filling, Shaping and Second Rise
1. The next day, line a 24×24 cm (9.5×9.5 inch) baking tray with parchment paper and brush it with olive oil.
2. Drain your soaked fruit and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
3. Spritz your work surface with water or oil. Gently turn the cold dough out, keeping as many beautiful bubbles intact as possible.
4. Stretch the dough into a loose rectangle, just slightly narrower than your baking tray.
5. Scatter marzipan cubes across the bottom half.
6. Scatter the soaked fruit and citrus peel on top.
7. Fold the top half of the dough over the filling, pinching the edges to seal well. This prevents the marzipan from leaking and burning.
8. In one swift movement, lift and transfer the dough into the prepared tray. Tug the edges so it fills the corners of the pan.
9. Cover with plastic wrap (resting on the rims so it doesn't stick to the dough) and leave for the second rise, 1-2 hours, until visibly puffy.
Topping and Baking
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Drizzle the top of the dough with a little olive oil.
3. Scatter almonds over the surface and press them deep into the dough using oiled fingers.
3. Place in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes until golden brown.
4. Cool in the tray for 5-10 minutes before lifting onto a wire rack.
5. Once cooled slightly, dust generously with icing sugar.
Tips For Best Results
Here are some important things to note so your Christmas Sourdough Focaccia bread turns out amazing the first time you make it:
- Don't be scared of high hydration dough. That's what makes a great sourdough focaccia. You'll start with a sticky dough, but coil folds and bulk fermentation will completely transform it.
- Seal the filling well. Marzipan melts. If it leaks out the sides of the dough, it will burn onto the edges of the pan, so pinch firmly along all edges.
- Use well-drained fruit. Excess moisture at the bottom of the pan prevents even baking.
- Don't skip the cold fermentation. It improves flavour, makes shaping easier and gives the dough a better structure.
- Dimple deeply after the second rise. This creates space for the almond topping and prevents burning.
- Watch the dough rather than the clock. Honey accelerates fermentation. Look for a puffy dough with visible bubbles across the top.
- Use a high-rimmed rectangular pan. It helps with dough rise and you can cover it without the plastic wrap touching the surface of the dough.
Storage
Store your sourdough stollen focaccia in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
For longer storage, freeze slices in a plastic bag for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature, then warm briefly in the oven for a just-baked texture.
More Dessert Sourdough Focaccia Recipes
If you love sweet sourdough bakes, you'll enjoy my other dessert focaccia ideas - perfect for festive gatherings, gifting or simply treating yourself on a cold winter's day.
Which one are you going to try next time? Let me know in the comments!
Sourdough Stollen Focaccia (Christmas Sourdough Focaccia)
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Sourdough Focaccia Dough
- 260 g strong white bread flour at least 12% protein
- 190 g water
- 110 g active sourdough starter 100% hydration
- 5 g salt
- 1 teaspoon honey or sugar
- 25 ml olive oil
For the Stollen Filling
- 100 g dried fruit we used a mixture of currants, sultanas, cranberries
- 50 ml brandy or spiced rum or cognac
- 100 g marzipan cut into small pieces
- 40 g candied citrus peel a.k.a. mixed peel in the UK
For the Topping
- 40 g almonds chopped, slivered or flaked
- olive oil for dimpling
- Icing sugar for dusting after baking
Instructions
DAY 1:
- First thing in the morning, feed your sourdough starter and leave it in a warm spot to at least double in volume. We typically feed our starter in a ratio of 1 part starter: 1 part water: 1 part flour, and it doubles (or even triples) within 4 hours.
Fermentolyse and Mixing The Dough
- In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, water, and active sourdough starter. Mix the dough in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment for a few minutes on low speed, until the flour is hydrated. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and leave the dough to fermentolyse (a type of sourdough autolyse where sourdough starter is added too) for an hour.
- After an hour, scatter the salt and sugar (or honey) on top of the dough. Drizzle the olive oil all over, and using your hands, squish the salt and oil into the dough, aiming to distribute it evenly.
- TIP: Don't be tempted to just mix the oil in by running the stand mixer - the dough will split, separated by oil layers.
- Once incorporated, run your mixer on medium speed for 10-12 minutes, until you have a very smooth and elastic dough. It will be wet, but should start gathering around the dough hook attachment.
Coil Folds, Bulk Fermentation, Cold Ferment
- Scoop the dough into a lightly oiled bowl (we like to use a heavy shallow dish - it helps with coil folds later). Cover the dough with a damp tea towel or cling film (plastic wrap) and leave it in a warm spot for 30 minutes.
- Over the next 3 hours, at 30-minute intervals, perform a set of coil folds, using wet hands. See the coil folding video below.
- After all 6 sets of coil folds are completed, cover the dough and let it finish its bulk fermentation undisturbed for 1.5-3 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
- Place the dough in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours (or simply overnight).
Soak The Fruit
- Pour brandy over your dried fruit and mix to coat. Cover and leave to soak overnight.
DAY 2:
- The next day, grease and line a baking tray (approx 24x24cm) with parchment paper. Brush the parchment paper with a little extra olive oil.
Filling Focaccia & Second Proof
- Drain the dried fruit squeezing out as much excess moisture as possible.
- Spritz clean kitchen surface with plenty of water or oil (this will prevent the dough from sticking to the surface. Take the focaccia sourdough out of the fridge. Very carefully transfer the dough onto the sprayed surface, trying not to deflate it too much. Stretch it out slightly into a rectangle - the width of it should be slightly smaller than your baking tray.
- Scatter the marzipan cubes onto the bottom half of the stretched out dough.
- Scatter drained fruit all over the marzipan alongside the candied citrus peel.
- Fold the other half of the dough over the filling and pinch the edges together - the marzipan needs to be sealed in in order not to leak out.
- In a swift motion, transfer the dough into the prepared baking tray. Tug on the edges of the dough to stretch the dough out to fill the baking tray.
- Cover it with a sheet of cling film (plastic wrap) resting on the rims of the baking tray and leave the dough in a warm spot for its second proof for 1-2 hours.
Topping and Baking
- After the second rise, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Drizzle extra olive oil across the surface of the focaccia. Scatter the almonds across the surface and with oiled fingers, dimple the dough deep (touch the base of the baking tray).
- Place your sourdough stollen focaccia in the preheated oven for 20-22 minutes.
- Once baked, let it firm up in the tray for 5-10 minutes, then lift it out by the overhanging parchment paper, and place it on a wire rack. Slice the parchment paper out from underneath and allow the focaccia to cool down.
- Dust with plenty of icing sugar and enjoy!
Nutrition
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