What is Christmas about? The happiness of being together, smiles, laughter, and that delicious smell. Bake Stollen and let it smell and taste of Christmas.
Christmas is the season of sharing love and bright emotions with your family. But also the season of that delicious smell of food we tend to cook only at Christmas. You probably have the meals you traditionally arrange for your Christmas dinner. Perhaps you’ve planned on baking traditional Christmas cookies. However, why don’t you add sweet, fruity, and authentic citrus flavour like a Christmas Stollen? Let’s bake and let your house smell lovely, delicious and warm.
What Is Christmas Stollen, and Where Does It Come From?
Christmas Stollen is a thick, sweet bread studded with dried fruit, candied citrus peel, almond paste or marzipan, and nuts. This is the jewel of the many kinds of sweet bread we enjoy at Christmas. The origins of Christmas Stollen can be traced back to the beginning of the 15th century in Dresden, Germany. The history of this Christmas fruity bread reveals some curious facts.
The first mention of the Stollen found in the books of the Christian Hospital of St. Bartholomew in Dresden dates back to 1474. At the time, it was made as a cake for the fasting period. Following Church dogma, it contained only flour, oats, and water, which wasn’t delicious and sweet-scented. So, Elector Ernst of Saxony and his brother Albrecht asked the Pope to cancel the ban on butter. And this is the story of the “Butter Letter”, which The Holy Father sent back. With a clear conscience and God’s blessing, the Pope allowed the use of milk and butter in the Stollen.
The very name of this delicious fruity bread also has various curious interpretations. On one hand, its meaning in German is a border stone. Another meaning of the word “Stollen” leads to a mining gallery, which is believed to relate to the silver and tin mining in Dresden. On the other hand, Christstollen, with its rolled shape and sugar coating, is seen as a symbolic representation of the wrapped in a nappy and lying in a hay box baby Jesus.
Dresden’s Christmas Market – The Traditional Stollen Venue
The taste of Stollen may have changed over the years, combining various exotic ingredients shipped from distant parts of the world. However, the traditional venue for celebrating Christmas and enjoying the fruity German Christmas bread has remained the same for over 500 years – Dresden’s Christmas market. Its very name in German – Striezelmarkt – relates to the traditional bread.
The chronicles’ first mention of the Dresden Christmas market dates back to 1474. So, from 1560, the local bakers offered the ruler of Saxony a Christmas gift – one or two 36-pound Stollen loaves. Eight master bakers and eight journeymen carried the sweet, fruity gift to the Palace and presented it. Thus, a long-lasting tradition was established.
Perhaps the year 1730 can be seen as the beginning of the modern tradition of the Stollen festival. This is the time when Augustus the Strong changed the custom. On his demand, the Dresden Bakers’ Guild baked a huge Stollen, which weighed 1.8 tons and was cut into 24,000 pieces for the guests of the Zeithain festivities. So, the Dresden Stollen festival is the best place and time to taste the traditional Christmas bread and enjoy the cheerful and festive atmosphere of the city. Unfortunately, organising a trip like that is challenging with the pandemic around. How can we feel the smell and the taste of the traditional Stollen festival then?
Let’s Bake Some Stollen Now
Photo by Mariana
Just like with every new thing we get to make, we feel more confident when we use some tested and proven recipe. After all, Christmas is not the occasion to risk ending up with the kitchen all messed up in vain. So, let me share a Stollen recipe with you. I’ve been using it for ten years, and as a result it has proved to be a guaranteed success. And, what’s even better – it’s as easy as an apple pie.
What Do You Need for Your Christmas Stollen?
For the dough:
- 500 g flour;
- 100 g. sugar;
- 1 packet instant yeast (7 g);
- 200 g butter;
- 250 ml milk;
- 2 packets vanilla-flavoured sugar;
- a pinch of salt;
- a pinch of ground nutmeg;
- a pinch of ground cloves;
- ¼ teaspoon of ground cardamom.
Dried and candied fruit:
- 150 g sultanas;
- 50 g currants;
- 50 g cranberries;
- 60 g candied lemon peel;
- 60 g candied orange peel;
- 60 g almonds;
- 50 g candied pomelo peel;
- 3 rings of candied pineapple;
- grated rind of ½ lemon;
- grated rind of 1 tangerine;
- 150 g almond marzipan (or chocolate chips);
- rum or brandy.
For the coating:
- butter;
- icing sugar.
How do you prepare it?
Wash the cranberries, the sultanas, and the currants and soak them in rum or brandy with the diced pomelo peel and pineapple rings the evening before you start making the Stollen. The next day, sift the flour and mix it with the powdered yeast, ground nutmeg, cloves, cardamom and salt. Pour the lukewarm milk into the mixer bowl and stir it with the sugar, the melted butter, and the vanilla sugar. Then, pour the mixture into a well in the flour and knead the dough. After that, cover it and leave it in a warm place to rise for an hour.
When the dough has risen, add the candied peels, the sultanas, the currants, the cranberries, the grated almonds, lemon and tangerine rind and the chocolate chips (if you’re using them instead of marzipan). Work the dough for about 10 minutes, cover it with a cloth and leave it to rise for another hour. When it’s ready, knead it again and divide it into two parts. Roll each of them into a circle of about 1.5 cm thick. If you use almond marzipan, put half of it in the middle of each circle and fold them.
The last step is to bake the two loaves in a moderate oven for about 60 mins. Cover it with aluminium foil for the first 20 minutes to avoid overburning the top, and then uncover it to bake properly. When you get the Stollen loaves out of the oven, spread the butter over the hot surface and powder them with icing sugar. The coating itself should be thick and snow-white. When the loaves cool down, pack them and store them for several days before serving them at Christmas.
Variety of Stollen Recipes
The amount of ingredients in the recipe is enough for two loaves. You can easily switch to a vegan version by replacing the milk with coconut or soya milk and the butter with coconut oil or margarine. If you pack it beautifully, you could even use it as part of a Christmas present. So, it will make a delicious, fruity and festive surprise.
Apart from the recipe I shared with you, there is an excellent variety of Stollen recipes. You could also use your imagination to diversify the fruit depending on your preferences. And the best part is that you can get your family involved in kneading and working the dough. Can you picture the lovely, cheerful bustle around the table?
Conclusion
Christmas is a precious time of family warmth and brightness. We treasure the moments together and the opportunity to enjoy those lazy and cosy mornings when we have our tea in our pyjamas without the urge to hurry for work or deal with the next task. Imagine adding the sweet citrus scent of Stollen to your tea or coffee in the morning. I’m addicted to it – the fruity citrus flavour that stays in your mouth and reminds you of the sun and Christmas simultaneously. And I hope you’re inspired to make a loaf or two this Christmas – to spice up your traditional Christmas meal. So, good luck and bon appétit!
