Lebkuchen-Schmidt

Organic Christmas Stollen

The traditional Advent favorite
When the family sits together and drinks coffee during Advent, there is often a Christstollen on the table. Connoisseurs of the traditional yeast pastry can be divided - at least roughly - into two groups. The group that enjoys Christstollen with coffee. And the group that "dips" the stollen into the coffee and then eats it.
 
How long does the Christstollen last?
The Christstollen, if stored below 15 degrees in a cool, dry place, will keep for several weeks. Many swear by the fact that the Stollen must be baked early so that the spices have a few days to infuse properly. The long shelf life is due to the high sugar content of the fruit, this preserves the Stollen. Of course, the Christstollen is not only in Dresden, but also in all of Germany and also in Nuremberg a popular pastry for Advent and Christmas. If you don't want to take the trouble and bake it yourself, you can of course order a Christstollen. We at Lebkuchen-Schmidt have the Nuremberg Christstollen in our program. You can easily order the delicious yeast pastry in our online store. We wish you bon appétit!

The Christstollen and its shape
Perhaps you are one of those people who have never thought about why Christstollen looks the way it does. In fact, the Christstollen has its shape for a very specific reason. The shape of the Christstollen is supposed to be reminiscent of the swaddled baby Jesus - the powdered sugar or icing is interpreted as a diaper.

Origin of the Christstollen
As is so often the case, researchers are not in complete agreement on the subject of Christstollen. However, it is assumed that the Stollen has its origin already in the pre-Christian time. At that time, stollen was baked for the Raunächte, the twelve nights from Christmas Day to January 6. To entertain the souls of the departed, people baked 103 loaves. The name Christstollen or Christmas stollen came much later.

A butter letter for the Christstollen
The Dresden Christstollen was first mentioned in a document in 1447. At that time, the Stollen was still known as a fasting pastry and consisted only of flour, water and yeast. Milk or even butter were forbidden by the Catholic Church at that time. Elector Ernst of Saxony and his brother Albrecht, however, did not want to know anything about this and asked the then Pope Innocent VIII to lift the ban. The ban was finally lifted in 1491 with the so-called "Butterbrief".

Dresden Christmas Stollen
Its reputation as the most famous Christmas stollen is probably also due to August the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. In honor of the respective sovereign, a large Stollen was brought to Dresden Castle every year in the 16th century. The heaviest Stollen, weighing 1,800 kilograms, went to August the Strong, who in turn shared the yeast pastry with 24,000 guests at the Zeithainer Lustlager.