Stollen -Germany’s Traditional Fruitcake

The Germans invented Christmas. Thanks to them we have the Christmas tree, Christmas cookies , ham and of course stolen. Stollen is a wonderful tradition, celebrating both the religious and secular side of the holiday It is the perfect bread to have on Christmas eve while decorating the or on Christmas s morning when the presents are being unwrapped.
Stollen’s history is long an colorful . The bread was first created in between the 1300 and 1400s when it was originally called streitzel. There was another pastry called stollen but it was entirely different being an oat cake made with flour oats and water. Modern stollen as first baked in 1427 at the court of Dresden. The shape was made to resemble the swaddled Christ Child. Since it was made during Advent, there was a problem with adding butter to it, which was considered a taboo by the Catholic Church . There had to be an edict allowing bakers to add this vital ingredient to complete the recipe. A letter had to be written to the standing pope, Pope Nicholas who vehemently denied the use. Five popes later, Pope Innocent finally granted Saxony bakers the use of butter. Over th e decades many other ingredients have been added such as almond past eort marzipan along with lemon zest and candied. citrons. It is still made in Dresden where there is an annual stolen festival during December.

Most people opt to buy stolen. Usually the bakery kind is moist and ultra buttery, redolent with citron and patches of marzipan. Homemade kinds can be tricky because yeast is involved an d it doesn’t always cooperate. Loaves can be too dense or too chewy (read tough ) to eat. Making it is also labor intensive unless you have a bread maker. Bakling time is a long 40-45 minutes as opposed to the usually five to ten minutes that comes with Christmas cookies. Yet a homemade stollen can be wonderful, especially when it’s made with butter , a loaded with nuts and candied fruit.

Stollen is a wonderful Christmas tradition. Everyone should pick up a loaf from their
Bakery or make it themselves. It is the perfect treat to enjoy during three trimming or present opening.