Stollen is a sweet German bread associated with Christmas, filled with nuts, raisins, and candied fruit, and sometimes baked with rum and marzipan. Its origins date back to the 1500s in Dresden, and it is often given as a holiday gift. The most popular version is Dresdner Stollen, and traditional bakeries mark their bread to indicate it is made in the Dresden style.
Stollen is a type of German bread closely associated with the holidays and especially Christmas. The bread is extremely sweet and rich and resembles a cake much more than a loaf. For this reason, some people refer to it as a fruitcake or a variation of a Christmas cake. However, since Stollen is leavened with yeast and treated like bread, it should be classified as bread.
A typical Stollen has a slightly tumbled shape which is meant to vaguely suggest the figure of Christ in his swathed garments. It’s usually frosted with a light dusting of powdered sugar, and some bakers also add candied or hot cherries to the decorations. Inside, the Stollen is filled with chopped nuts, raisins, and candied orange peel. Other candied fruits may also be included, and the cake is often baked with rum for an especially rich flavor. Some bakers also add marzipan to boost flavor and moisture in the finished product.
Stollen’s origins are quite ancient. Bread was first baked in the German city of Dresden in the 1500s, albeit in a very different form. Originally, the bread was made without butter and a few other ingredients that were considered decadent during a traditional holiday fasting period. Easing the fasting restrictions of devout Christians, Stollen evolved from a sometimes hard and tasteless bread to the moist, soft and highly flavorful version that is popular today.
The word comes from the German stroczel, which originally meant “to wake up.” Over time, the term has been used in the context of bread, possibly because yeast is a living organism that awakens to create dough for bread. A different name is used to refer to bread in modern German, as Stollen is such a unique food item. In some parts of Germany, the bread is also called Striezel and during the holiday season it is sometimes better known as Weihnachtsstollen or Christstollen.
In Germany, Stollen is often given as a Christmas or holiday present. The most popular version of Stollen is Dresdner Stollen, bread baked by traditional Dresden bakeries. Dresden also celebrates an annual Stollen festival to commemorate bread. Traditional bakeries specially mark their bread so that consumers know that the bread is made in the Dresden style. Stollen is also baked at home and can be prepared and eaten all year round, not just during the holiday season.
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