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Browse the recipes and make them at home: doses recalculated for the home oven, explained step by step.

MikiLab doesn't want to teach the craft to anyone who has practised it all their life. Hands, flour, the home oven and time always change something.

Sitor's Workshop

176 recipes

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Recipes are of two kinds: those checked or tested by Michele and the drafts written by Sitor, Michele's AI avatar: an artificial intelligence based on Anthropic models. Each recipe clearly states which kind it is.

Free for personal use. Recipes and texts © MikiLab: reproducing or selling them is forbidden, links are welcome. Official prints and shares carry the MikiLab logo.

© MikiLab — Sitor's Manual · Made with Michele's hands

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Stollen Tedesco Tradizionale delle Feste

Enter doses, hydration and times. Hydration is computed automatically.

Traditional German Festive StollenIllustrative image
MikiLab
MikiLab
Traditional German Festive Stollen · 14/10/2026

Traditional German Festive Stollen

Traditional German Christmas Stollen

Recipe no. 134 · mikilab.de/134

W300 flour, medium-high strength

Sitor draft

MikiLab
MikiLab
Sitor's Manual

Traditional German Festive Stollen

Farina W300, media-alta forza · Proof: 45 min · Difficulty: Challenge
Flour1000 g
Water120 g
Salt15 g
Butter 82%400 g
Sugar120 g
Raisins (soaked in rum)350 g
Candied orange and citron, diced150 g
Chopped almonds100 g
Marzipan (centre insert)200 g
Whole milk150 g
Stiff sourdough150 g
Fresh yeast30 g
Spices: cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves10 g
Lemon zest20 g
Melted butter + icing sugar for finishing150 g
Natural Improver30 g

Baking: 170°C · 45 min

Method

MIKILAB INTRODUCTION Stollen requires time and rest: mixed fermentation (Lievito Madre + beer yeast) provides lift and aroma, while the spices and rum mature over the following days. Prepare it in advance. EQUIPMENT Stand mixer, container for macerating the fruit, baking tray, pastry brush, sieve for powdered sugar. STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE 1) The day before: soak the raisins in rum; drain before use. 2) Refresh the Lievito Madre. 3) Dough: flour, milk, sugar, Lievito Madre and beer yeast, spices and zest. Develop the gluten network, then add butter in pieces and salt. Firm dough (low hydration) at 24°C. 4) At low speed, fold in dried fruit, candied peel and almonds without tearing the gluten network. 5) Bulk fermentation 2 h at room temperature, then refrigerate for 12 h. 6) Shape into the classic folded oval; insert the marzipan log in the centre. 7) Final proof 2–3 h at 26°C. BAKING 170°C for 45–55 min (cover with parchment if it colours too quickly). Internal temperature 92–94°C. FINISHING AND STORAGE As soon as it comes out of the oven, brush generously with melted butter and coat in sugar (2 coats). Wrap and allow to mature for 3–7 days: it keeps for several weeks, improving in flavour. NATURAL IMPROVER (optional): I always add my Natural Improver (2-3% of the flour) for more strength, aroma and lasting softness; you can replace it with a simple malt or omit it.

Allergens: Gluten, Milk, Tree nuts, Lupin

© MikiLab — Sitor's Manual · mikilab.de · Do not reproduce or sell without the logo and consent
Challenge

Sourdough (Lievito Madre) check

  1. Put the starter in a straight clear glass jar, mark the level with a rubber band and note the time.
  2. Ready when doubled, with a domed top (for panettone: to the volume in the recipe).
  3. Good signs: bubbles against the glass, smell of yogurt or sweet milk.
  4. Collapsed dome and sharp smell (vinegar, solvent) = «over-proofed»: refresh again before use.
  5. Discard: fuzzy mould, pink or orange streaks.
  6. Keep it around 28 °C (e.g. oven off with light on; check with a thermometer).
  7. Note how many hours it takes to double: if it gets faster each refresh, it's getting stronger.

Before a panettone the starter must be stable (regularly refreshed for weeks). If you don't have one, ask a bakery for a piece or reactivate dried sourdough (about a week).

On TikTokRecipe no. 134

What you need· draft

  • Paper moulds (500 g or 1 kg)Where: baking supplies / online
  • Long skewers to flipWhere: houseware store
  • Two tall supports to hang upside downWhere: e.g. two chairs with a bar
  • Probe thermometer (core)Where: houseware / online
  • Oven thermometerWhere: houseware / online
  • Scale (1 g)Where: houseware
  • Sturdy stand mixerWhere: appliance store
  • Clear glass jar with rubber bandWhere: houseware store
  • Room thermometerWhere: houseware / online

Allergens

GlutenMilkTree nutsLupin

Always check the labels of your products.

Oven and steam can burn.

Recipes and texts © MikiLab. Free for personal use. Official prints and shares carry the MikiLab logo.

The MikiLab label

SourdoughNo eggsNo additives
How it rises
sourdough starter
Baker's yeast
3 % of flour
Salt
1,5 g per 100 g flour
Added fat
55 %
Added sugars
27 %
Flour
Farina W300, media-alta forza

Michele's method: the preferment or sourdough works at least 12 hours. More flavour, longer keeping, less yeast.

Calculated from the recipe: facts about the method, not a nutrition label nor medical advice.

Process diagram

MikiLabTraditional German Festive Stollen🫙1. PrefermentSourdough🥣2. Mixing🤲3. Shaping🔥4. Baking170 °C · 45 min🌬️5. Coolingmikilab.de
35% hydr.1000g flour170° · 45′ StaticIndirect

Ingredients

Rescaleg
How much flour?
Flour1000 g · 100%
Water120 g · 12%
Salt15 g · 1.5%
Butter 82%400 g · 40%
Sugar120 g · 12%
Raisins (soaked in rum)350 g · 35%
Candied orange and citron, diced150 g · 15%
Chopped almonds100 g · 10%
Marzipan (centre insert)200 g · 20%
Whole milk150 g · 15%
Stiff sourdough150 g · 15%
Fresh yeast30 g · 3%
Spices: cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves10 g · 1%
Lemon zest20 g · 2%
Melted butter + icing sugar for finishing150 g · 15%
Natural Improver30 g · 3%

Procedure

MIKILAB INTRODUCTION Stollen requires time and rest: mixed fermentation (Lievito Madre + beer yeast) provides lift and aroma, while the spices and rum mature over the following days. Prepare it in advance. EQUIPMENT Stand mixer, container for macerating the fruit, baking tray, pastry brush, sieve for powdered sugar. STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE 1) The day before: soak the raisins in rum; drain before use. 2) Refresh the Lievito Madre. 3) Dough: flour, milk, sugar, Lievito Madre and beer yeast, spices and zest. Develop the gluten network, then add butter in pieces and salt. Firm dough (low hydration) at 24°C. 4) At low speed, fold in dried fruit, candied peel and almonds without tearing the gluten network. 5) Bulk fermentation 2 h at room temperature, then refrigerate for 12 h. 6) Shape into the classic folded oval; insert the marzipan log in the centre. 7) Final proof 2–3 h at 26°C. BAKING 170°C for 45–55 min (cover with parchment if it colours too quickly). Internal temperature 92–94°C. FINISHING AND STORAGE As soon as it comes out of the oven, brush generously with melted butter and coat in sugar (2 coats). Wrap and allow to mature for 3–7 days: it keeps for several weeks, improving in flavour. NATURAL IMPROVER (optional): I always add my Natural Improver (2-3% of the flour) for more strength, aroma and lasting softness; you can replace it with a simple malt or omit it.

The why

This recipe's steps explained by Sitor (AI). The quantities stay Michele's.

Machine Sheet

Production Mode: Manual

Hourly Yield: ≈ 40-80 pcs/hour (by hand)

No machine active: manual work. Turn on the Machine Park in the Lab.

The great German Christmas leavened cake (Christstollen): buttery, spiced, extremely rich in fruit. Revisited with my mixed fermentation method to make it more digestible and longer-lasting.

Useful terms *

  • * Full development (incordare): knead until the dough is smooth, elastic and pulls away from the bowl (gluten fully developed).
  • * Final proof (appretto): the second proof after shaping, before baking.
Michele

Made with Michele's hands

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