Quarkstollen (German Quark-Almond Sweet Bread) and Classic German Baking

Classic German Baking: The Very Best Recipes for Traditional Favorites from Pfeffernüsse to Streuselkuchen, written by Luisa Weiss, features over 100 classic German, Austrian, and Swiss recipes adapted for the American home baker. A few highlights include Nussecken (Chocolate-Hazelnut Cookie Bars), Gedeckter Apfelkuchen (Glazed Apple Cake), Bienenstich (Honey-Almond Caramel Cake), Linzertorte (Spiced Almond Jam Tart), and Roggenbrötchen (Rye Rolls). I will also be sharing her recipe for Quarkstollen (Quark-Almond Sweet Bread) following the review.

Disclosure: I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own.

Luisa Weiss

Luisa Weiss is an American-Italian food writer based in Berlin, Germany.

She spent a decade working in book publishing in New York, was Harper’s Bazaar Germany’s food columnist for four years, and has been featured on Design*Sponge, National Public Radio, Food & Wine, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe.

Luisa is also the author of My Berlin Kitchen and Classic German Cooking.

Classic German Baking

Luisa begins Classic German Baking with a guide to basic pantry ingredients popular in German baking and includes where to find them, how they are used, storing tips, and possible substitutes. She also goes over helpful baking equipment.

Chapters are divided based on the type of baked good: Cookies, Cakes, Yeasted Cakes, Tortes and Strudels, Savories, Breads and Rolls, Christmas Favorites, and Basics.

I particularly loved the insights into German culture such as the estimation that Germany has over three hundred types of bread or the meal schedule that began during agricultural times.

For those still looking for holiday baking ideas, there is even a chapter devoted to Christmas favorites including Heidesand (Sandy Almond Sugar Cookies), Elisenlebkuchen (Glazed Flourless Nuremberg Lebkuchen), Biberle (Gingerbread Almond Nuggets), and Zimtsterne (Cinnamon-Almond Meringue Stars).

The photography is provided by Aubrie Pick. Many of the recipes (about 31) include a beautifully-styled photo of the finished product, full to half page. You will also find some gorgeous scenery of Berlin.

Measurements are listed in US Customary and Metric. The titles are written in German and English. Each includes a detailed headnote with background information, inspiration, guidance, and storage tips. 

Quarkstollen (Quark-Almond Sweet Bread)

This Quarkstollen recipe comes from the Christmas Favorites chapter and is perfect for the season.

I was especially excited since Quarkstollen and other types of Stollen often include raisins and other dried fruits, but this one does not (Quarkstollen ohne Rosinen)! It also comes together with ease using only a bowl, no rising times, a simple loaf shape, and about an hour in the oven.

A basic baking powder quick bread dough is combined with toasted slivered almonds, ground almonds, lemon zest, and quark. It is then immediately formed into a loaf and baked until golden.

Allow to cool completely to room temperature, then dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

This Quarkstollen is best the day it is made. Luisa recommends storing it at room temperature wrapped in plastic to extend the life to 3-4 days or slicing and toasting the stale stollen for breakfast.

Notable ingredients

High fat, European-style butter is recommended for the Quarkstollen and other recipes in this book. European-style butter is a cultured butter that has a longer churning time to produce a higher fat content (at least 82%) compared to its American counterpart.

This creates a richer and lightly sour flavor with a lower water content that is perfect for baking. It is becoming more common in larger supermarkets.

The quark adds to the soft, tender texture. Quark (translates to curds in German)  is a fresh creamed cheese with a texture similar to Greek yogurt.

Quark can sometimes be found in the specialty cheese or dairy section of larger American grocery stores or markets with Central European ingredients. For those in the DC area, I have more recently been able to find it at German Gourmet in Falls Church, Virginia.

Luisa has included a way to make your own in the book. I have also had good results with buttermilk and a yogurt maker.

Other Treats

I also made Schwarz-Weiss Gebäck (Checkerboard Cookies), Russischer Zupfkuchen (Chocolate Quark Cheesecake), Zwiebelkuchen (Savory Onion Cake), and Mohnhörnchen (Poppy-Seed Crescent Rolls).

Schwarz-Weiss Gebäck are chocolate and vanilla checkerboard cookies popular during Christmas. The chocolate and vanilla cookie doughs are formed into squared-off logs then glued together with an egg wash. After chilling, the dough is sliced and baked until lightly golden.

Russischer Zupfkuchen is a quark-based cheesecake with a chocolate cookie dough-like crust. Before rolling the crust out, some of it is set aside to break off into pieces and scatter over the top of the sweetened quark filling. I loved the pieces of crust on the top in addition to the base.

Luisa includes a collection of savory cakes, breads, and tarts for those needing a break from the sweet. Zwiebelkuchen is a savory cake topped with caramelized onions, speck, and caraway seeds. I loved the ratio of dough with the caramelized onion topping.

Mohnhörnchen are savory crescent rolls topped with an egg wash and poppy seeds before baking until golden. They are delicious for breakfast with jam/honey/nutella or paired with a salad/soup for lunch. These rolls, like most bread, are best shortly after baking, but Luisa recommends splitting them in half and toasting in a pan of melted butter to revive them the next day.

Classic German Baking is a great pick for those interested in baking and/or German cuisine. Many of the recipes use instant or fresh yeast (Weiss doesn’t recommend active dry yeast due to its unreliability). Complexity ranges from simple loaves to the more advanced tortes and decorated cakes.

Most of the ingredients are readily available in the average supermarket, but a few may require a trip to a specialty European market such as European-style butter, semolina, speck, quark, pearl sugar, food-grade lye, and kirsch.

Quarkstollen (German Quark-Almond Sweet Bread) Recipe

Excerpt from Classic German Baking

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Quarkstollen (German Quark-Almond Sweet Bread)

A recipe for Quarkstollen (German Quark-Almond Sweet Bread) from the cookbook, Classic German Baking! This festive, easy bread is flavored with slivered almonds, lemon, and Quark.

Course Bread

Cuisine German

Keyword almond, bread, Christmas, German, Germany, quark

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

0 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 1 Loaf

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (150 grams) slivered almonds
• 1 cup (100 grams) ground blanched almonds
• 3 1/4 cups scooped and leveled, minus 1 tablespoon (400 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Grated peel of 1 organic lemon
• 8 1/2 tablespoons (120 grams) unsalted high-fat, European-style butter at room temperature
• 1 cup (250 grams) Quark drained if necessary
• 2 eggs
• Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C). Place the slivered almonds on a baking sheet and toast until golden brown and fragrant, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Line a second baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
• Place the toasted slivered almonds, ground almonds, flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, salt, grated lemon peel, butter, Quark, and eggs in a bowl. Stir together to start with, and then knead together until well combined. The dough will be quite sticky. Form into a 6 by 12 inch (15 by 30 centimeter) rectangle and place on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until golden brown. Place on a rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioner's sugar before serving.
• The Stollen can be eaten the day it is made, but it will also keep, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. The stale Stollen can be sliced and toasted for breakfast.