9 Mouthwatering Facts About Stollen.

2 minutes read.

1. Stollen is a cake-like, yeast bread that is slightly oval and can contain spices, orange and lemon zest, nuts, and a thick roll of marzipan going through the middle. It is usually covered in white, powdered sugar.

2. The word ‘stollen’ is a word for post or boundary stone for a city

3. The loaf sprinkled with white sugar is traditionally meant to represent Jesus wrapped in swaddling cloths.

4. This bread originates from Dresden in Germany. It is mentioned in 1474 in the records of the Christian Hospital of St. Bartholomew, where it is referred to as a cake to eat for the fasting period. However, it wouldn’t have been delicious then because it was only just made from oats, flour, and water, as demanded by Church doctrine.

5. Luckily, in 1647, two brothers, Kufurst and Albrecht Ernst petitioned the Pope to lift the butter ban.

6. In 1730, a baker from Dresden, named Zacharias baked a huge stollen that had to be pulled out of the oven by 8 horses!

7. Stollen even has its own festival. It started in 1994. A massive stollen is baked every year before Christmas and is delivered through town on a horse-drawn wagon, accompanied by the pastry chefs of Dresden to the Striezelmarkt Square. Then, it is cut into pieces with a 1.2m long stollen knife and sold to visitors; a percentage goes to charity. Check out this YouTube video and note the rather scary looking stollen knife!

8. The most common type of stollen is ‘Dresdner Stollen.’ In 2010, this name was officially protected by EU law. This means only Christmas fruit bread made in Dresden can be labelled and sold as Dresdner Stollen.

9. Stollen is very high in fat. A typical slice contains an average of 8.5g of fat; of which half is saturated fats. Probably as well to just eat it at Christmas!

Do you like stollen? Have you been to the Stollen festival? As usual, feel free to leave your comments below.

Thank you for reading.

Rachel x

Sources: german-way.com, kitchenproject.com, bbcgoodfood.com, bakesomebread.com