{"id":13846,"date":"2017-11-24T10:24:38","date_gmt":"2017-11-24T09:24:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bake-street.com\/?p=13846"},"modified":"2026-04-08T12:30:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:30:08","slug":"stollen-german-christmas-bread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bake-street.com\/en\/stollen-german-christmas-bread\/","title":{"rendered":"Stollen, German Christmas bread"},"content":{"rendered":"

How many times have you written to me asking me about the Stollen<\/strong> recipe… Ok, voil\u00e0! you already got it. The truth is that I am not surprised that this recipe has been so requested in recent months, because it is one of those delicacies that make our eyes turn around while we enjoy after each bite. We must recognize that the stollen is not attractive, in spite of how good it is.<\/p>\n

This bread of German origin also known as\u00a0Weihnachtsstollen <\/strong><\/i>or Christstollen<\/i><\/strong> is usually served as a dessert at Christmas or Advent and its appearance is compared to a newborn baby wrapped in diapers. Hence the use of icing sugar to cover all its exterior.<\/p>\n

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Stollen is a sweet bread made with a significant amount of butter, slightly more than 50% of the weight of flour, very little sugar inside and a large amount on the outside, as well as a very generous addition of candied fruits. As I said above, a delicacy for the most exquisite palates.<\/p>\n

The origin of the Stollen.<\/h5>\n

It is a bread with a long tradition in German cuisine.\u00a0The first written mention of Stollen dates back to 1329 in Naumburg<\/em> (Saale), being offered as a Christmas gift for a bishop. With the passage of time, it has maintained its shape with very few changes.\u00a0They want to maintain the intention of imitating a baby wrapped in diapers, making reference to the newborn baby Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\"Stollen, <\/picture><\/div>\n

During Advent, a word derived from adventus<\/em> and meaning “coming”, Christians prepared for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus. During this time they lived in a time of fasting when they were not allowed to drink milk or butter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For that reason, the bakers had to make this Stollen with oats, water and oil<\/strong>, giving rise to a hard and tasteless bread. The results of this elaboration were not pleasing to the nobles of the time, so they begged PrinceErnst von Sachsen<\/em><\/strong> in 1430 to intercede with Pope Nicholas V<\/strong><\/em> to include butter in its elaboration. This request was rejected.<\/p>\n

The introduction of butter for the Stollen.<\/h5>\n

The first Pope who allowed to introduce butter into this bread during the fasting season in Advent was Innocent VIII<\/strong><\/em> in 1491. To do this he wrote a letter which they called “Letter of butter” – “Butterbrief”<\/strong> (remember that I commented on this post<\/a>), in which it was specified that the oil of turnips could be replaced by butter<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

These permits were available to the entire population but had certain conditions:<\/strong><\/p>\n