how do you serve and eat stollen

Stollen is “fruit bread” that typically lurks in the darker corners of supermarket bakery departments until Christmas, when it emerges like a glorious butterfly to take its rightful place front and center in the bakery section.

Stollen can be sliced and served with butter, honey, or jam. You may toast, or microwave individual slices before eating. How should the Stollen loaves be stored? Store stollen in a cool dry place such as a breadbox or a cool place in your kitchen.

What is a Stollen?

(Dusted and ready for consumption)

Think of a Stollen as the love child of a fruit cake and a loaf of bread: it’s typically baked from a yeasty dough (replete with dried fruit soaked in rum), then covered in icing sugar.

Like you’d expect, you eat a Stollen in slices, often with your coffee or Christmas punch. Some people put butter and jam on it.

As with just about every baked product in this part of the world, you find different varieties in Vienna. At Christmas, you often see marzipan, poppy seed or nut versions, though the kind with dried fruit remains the classic.

(Slicing reveals the dried fruit within)

Consider the Stollen an integral component of the Christmas bakery selection alongside Lebkuchen, Christmas biscuits and Spekulatius.

This delight has been part of that selection for centuries in central Europe. The earliest known written mention apparently involved an obligation placed on 14th-century bakers in Naumburg (just southwest of Leipzig) to deliver a Stollen or its equivalent to the local bishop at Christmas.

(Better than another pair of novelty socks.)

The Stollen now has many fans in the UK and USA, too, largely because you can make it quite easily. We bake them as seasonal gifts for friends and family each year; they last quite a few days in an airtight container.

Dresdner Stollen Girl Explains How to Make Stollen

FAQ

How do Germans eat stollen?

Is stollen served warm or cold?

Do you warm up stollen bread?

When should you eat stollen?