Stollen Recipe | Jamie Oliver (2024)

FAQs

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.

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.

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.

Christmas Stollen, also called a Christstollen in Germany, is a traditional pastry dating from the 14th century. Stollen loaves were made in Germany during the Christmas season to sell at fairs and festivals and to honor princes and church leaders.

Stollen (German: [ˈʃtɔlən] or German: [ʃtɔln]) is a fruit bread of nuts, spices, and dried or candied fruit, coated with powdered sugar or icing sugar and often containing marzipan. It is a traditional German Christmas bread.

As a traditional German fruitcake with a profound history, it's no wonder that there are as many variations of stollen as there are people who make it. This version includes a rich filling of almond paste (or marzipan), which adds to the decadence of the bread-like cake.

If stored in a cool and dry place such as a bread box or drawer, your stollen will last for months.

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.

Regarding the soaking liquor, you can also use brandy or Grand Marnier – some people like to use rum – but for me it seems odd to put something with a distinct Caribbean association into a traditional European recipe… so I don't typically choose rum. You can customize your filling ingredients if you like.

How do you eat German Stollen bread? ›

How do I serve my Stollen? 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.

It hails from the city of Dresden, Germany, where it was first produced in the late 1500s. Stollen is enjoyed throughout the year, but at the holidays, it is loaded with more fruits and nuts, items that were historically only available through importation from Italy, and therefore very expensive.

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.

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).

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.

What's the shelf life of the stollen? The shelf life of raisin stollen is 12 weeks, at 12-15°C (60-65°F) and 60-70% relative atmospheric humidity.