Stollen is “fruit bread” that typically lurks in the darker corners of supermarket bakery departments until Christmas, when it emerges like a glorious butterfly to take its rightful place front and center in the bakery section.
- Kind of a dry fruit loaf
- Tastes better than that sounds
- Traditional at Christmas
- …served with mulled wine or punch (or just a coffee)
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What is a Stollen?
(Dusted and ready for consumption)
Think of a Stollen as the love child of a fruit cake and a loaf of bread: it’s typically baked from a yeasty dough (replete with dried fruit soaked in rum), then covered in icing sugar.
Like you’d expect, you eat a Stollen in slices, often with your coffee or Christmas punch. Some people put butter and jam on it.
As with just about every baked product in this part of the world, you find different varieties in Vienna. At Christmas, you often see marzipan, poppy seed or nut versions, though the kind with dried fruit remains the classic.
(Slicing reveals the dried fruit within)
Consider the Stollen an integral component of the Christmas bakery selection alongside Lebkuchen, Christmas biscuits and Spekulatius.
This delight has been part of that selection for centuries in central Europe. The earliest known written mention apparently involved an obligation placed on 14th-century bakers in Naumburg (just southwest of Leipzig) to deliver a Stollen or its equivalent to the local bishop at Christmas.
(Better than another pair of novelty socks.)
The Stollen now has many fans in the UK and USA, too, largely because you can make it quite easily. We bake them as seasonal gifts for friends and family each year; they last quite a few days in an airtight container.
How do you say Stollen?
At first glance, Stollen seems an easy word to say in Austrian-flavoured German – “stoll” to rhyme with “doll” (British English) and an “en” like in “burden” (ditto).
The “st” has a “shh” at the start though – “shhtollen”.
FAQs
Christmas classic: the stollen
What is the tradition behind Stollen? ›
The shape of Stollen-- this fold-over dough with a white top layer-- is symbolic of baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling cloths. It started as a fasting cake made during Advent when people couldn't use butter, milk, or fruits (due to fasting rules) so it started as a very plain bread.
How do Germans eat Stollen? ›
Like you'd expect, you eat a Stollen in slices, often with your coffee or Christmas punch. Some people put butter and jam on it. As with just about every baked product in this part of the world, you find different varieties in Vienna.
Why is Stollen so expensive? ›
Expensive ingredients like almonds, nuts, raisins, orange peel, essence of rose and rum were imported. Because the coronation occurred during the Christmas season, the bakers shaped the loaves to resemble a baby in swaddling clothes in respect for the Christ Child. Ask any baker: Stollen is a labor of love.
What do Germans drink with Stollen? ›
8 great wine and other matches for Stollen
- Coffee. ...
- Schnapps. ...
- Spätlese, auslese or beerenauslese riesling. ...
- Dark rum. ...
- Pineau de Charentes* ...
- Cognac and other oak-aged brandies such as armagnac or Spanish brandy. ...
- Marsala dolce. ...
- Amaretto.
The tradition of baking Christmas stollen in Dresden is very old. Christmas stollen in Dresden was already baked in the 15th century. In 1560, the bakers of Dresden offered the rulers of Saxony Christmas Stollen weighing 36 pounds (16 kg) each as gifts, and the custom continued.
Why do we eat stollen at Christmas? ›
Stollen also has religious symbolism, with the loaf of bread symbolising Christ's body. It represents the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling garments by being coated with powdered sugar. As a result, it is also known as Christ Stollen or Christstollen.
Why does stollen last so long? ›
Our family recipe was crafted before the existence of refrigerators. The ingredients in our stollen have been time-tested to ensure a long shelf life. If stored in a cool and dry place such as a bread box or drawer, your stollen will last for months. We use no artificial preservatives.
Is stollen eaten hot or cold? ›
Using a serrated knife Stollen is usually served by the slice throughout the holiday season. Typically, it is warmed in the microwave or toaster and is either served with a generous helping of jam, honey, or butter.
What does stollen mean in German? ›
Stollen, or Christstollen, is a baked Christmas loaf made from a heavy yeast dough mixed with a lot of butter, dried fruit and almonds.
Saxony's World Famous Delicacy. The Dresdner Christstollen is a piece of cultural history, a centuries-old baking tradition, a prevailing passion and, above all, a delicious treat. For centuries, Dresden's bakers and pastry makers have kept up this tradition, passing it on from generation to generation.
Do Jews eat stollen? ›
The resulting product, called stollen in it's most generic form, was originally of Jewish origin, and was eaten throughout the Hanukkah season.
Is stollen like fruitcake? ›
In Germany, fruitcakes (known as Stollen) don't quite resemble their American counterparts. Fruitcake vs. Stollen: Flattened with a chewy crust, Stollen is often baked more like a traditional loaf of sourdough bread.
What time of day do you eat stollen? ›
Serving the Stollen
Traditionally stollen is sliced and served as is with breakfast, although some people prefer to warm individual slices in a toaster or a microwave.
Is stollen for breakfast or dessert? ›
Some people make German stollen with all kinds of heavy candied fruits. We prefer it with just a few dried fruits and not too heavy on the sugar. It's best when it's fresh baked. In fact, we usually slice it up first thing in the morning for Christmas breakfast.
What is the Christmas stollen supposed to symbolize? ›
Christmas classic: the stollen
Oblong in shape and sprinkled with icing sugar, the shape of the traditional German Christmas stollen symbolizes the Child Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes. In Germany, the stollen is as much a part of Christmastide as Christmas markets and Christmas trees.
Is stollen just for Christmas? ›
Stollen is really an all-purpose holiday treat. You could pull it out after a meal for a festive punctuation to supper when you don't want something too sweet.
What is the meaning of stollen cake? ›
Meaning of stollen in English
Stollen is a bread-like fruitcake made with yeast, water and flour, and usually with zest added to the dough. This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license. Marzipan (or almond paste) may also be used as a cake ingredient, as in stollen.
What is the meaning of the German word stollen? ›
: a sweet yeast bread of German origin containing fruit and nuts.
