History of Stollen
Stollen is German bread made traditionally around Christmastime.
First made in Dresden, Germany around the 1400s, stollen was made and shaped to represent the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes. The bread was made without butter or milk and was a rather tasteless pastry. Still, it was a popular Christmas pastry for its religious significance, and from 1560 onwards, stollen bakers would deliver one or two 36 pound stollen to the Saxon king yearly.
Because Advent was a time of fasting, there was a ban on the use of butter in baked goods. Oil was used as a replacement, but made the bread bland and flavorless. In 1647, Elector Lord Ernst of Saxony and his brother Albrecht appealed to the Pope to lift the butter ban explaining that oil was expensive and hard to come by (never mind tasteless!). The Pope lifted the ban to make the Christmas bread for the Prince and his family, but did not lift the ban for the general public until 1691.
With the use of butter, stollen became more popular and the recipe started to sway from the original, tasteless pastry to a sweeter one containing candied and liqueur-soaked fruits and nuts. Now, only 150 bakers are allowed to make the official Dresden Stollen, complete with the seal of the city’s famous king August the Strong. However, bakers all over the world have their own spin on both the original and the more modern recipes for the bread, and bake the dessert not only at Christmas, but also year round.
Further Reading:
A History of Dresden Stollen
Wikipedia on Stollen
Answers.com on Stollen
Our Stollen Read reviews on our Stollen >>
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