Stollen Recipe | Jamie Oliver (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between panettone and stollen? ›

Although their different shapes and textures suggest otherwise, panettone (tall and light) and stollen (long and dense) are made from a basic butter- and sugar-enriched yeast dough. Panettone typically contains candied orange peel and raisins; traditional stollen had candied lemon peel and dried cherries as well.

The History of Stollen Bread

Germans baked stollen loaves at Christmas to honor princes and church dignitaries, and to sell at fairs and festivals for holiday celebrations. Early stollen loaves were made as bread without milk or butter because the Catholic church did not allow these ingredients during advent.

This traditional German holiday bread was invented long before conventional refrigeration methods existed. As such it is designed to remain fresh and has a long shelf-life.

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.

The traditional weight of a stollen is around 2 kg (4.4 lb), but smaller sizes are common. The bread is slathered with melted unsalted butter and rolled in sugar as soon as it comes out of the oven, resulting in a moister product that keeps better. The marzipan rope in the middle is optional.

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.

Like you'd expect, you eat a Stollen in slices, often with your coffee or Christmas punch.

Stollen is basically a yeast-based fruit cake with lots of sugar, butter, raisins, rum aroma and powdered sugar. Traditionally there is also high fructose corn sirup involved, so not exactly what you would call a healthy treat (but pretty delicious tbh).

The city of Dresden in Saxony has played a big role in the history of Stollen. In 1730 a Dresden baker named Zacharias baked a giant stollen so large, it took eight horses to pull it out of the oven. But most stollen today are about the size of a normal loaf of bread, usually covered with white powdered sugar.

How long will stollen last? Stollen will last several months if kept covered in a cool, dry place. Stollen loaves are made in early November for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. Stollen loaves will become more moist and flavorful with age.

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.

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.

Stollen is sometimes referred to as ChristStollen, Weihnachtsstollen or Winterbrot. Why ChristStollen? Because the loaf is said to symbolize the swaddled Christ Child. This sweet raisin bread was first recorded in 1330 at a monastery near Leipzig in Naumburg (near Leipzig).

Two of fruitcake's closest relatives are especially beloved this time of year: Italian panettone and German stollen. The first hails from Milan and the latter is a culinary symbol of Dresden, but you'll find fine examples of both in Denver's western suburbs, of all places.

Stollen is a traditional German Christmas loaf densely packed with raisins and rich with real butter. It has a special place amongst traditional German Christmas pastries. Stollen is sometimes referred to as ChristStollen, Weihnachtsstollen or Winterbrot.

In Middle High German, “Strutzel” or “Striezel” referred to a yeast pastry in an elongated, sometimes braided form. It was probably intended as a reminder of the swaddled child in the Christian Christmas story. In some Saxon towns, this “Christbrot” was also called “Stollen” or “Stolle” because of its bead-like body.

Luxury Panettone without Candied Fruit (Pandoro)