Stollen bread is a particularly tasty German tradition, and while they can be found in many bakeries and grocery stores worldwide, the most authentic Stollen comes from the city of Dresden.
If you can’t make the trip to Dresden, ordering a Stollen online is quite easy and a fun way to add an exotic flavor to your holiday celebration.
Very similar to the Italian panettone bread, Stollen is a sweet spiced fruit bread that is light and fluffy, not dense and heavy like fruit cake. The Stollen is finished off with a covering of butter and powdered sugar that really ups the sweetness, and can also be filled with marzipan, a confection made of sugar or honey combined with almond paste.
Want to order an official Dresden Stollen? Look for the Dresdener Christstollen gold seal, which is issued by the Dresden Stollen Association and ensures that the Stollen is made in Dresden, is baked from quality ingredients, and has passed the Association’s certification tests.
Here are three good choices for ordering Stollen online:
Baking since 1919, the Bäckerei & Konditorei Gnauck offers Stollen in multiple varieties including original raisin, almond, marzipan, chocolate, and poppy-seed, starting as low as $7.40 each.
While they may not be made in Dresden, the Maron family’s Dresden Stollen Bakers may offer a better choice to importing a cake all the way from Germany. A pricey option, the one-pound Stollen starts at $22.50 each, and orders need to be placed by November 15th, 2014 to ensure the bakery knows how many breads to make to be delivered in December.
Packaged in a festive red or green box, Kuchenmeister Stollen are highly-rated and likely to be the type you could find in your local grocery store. Available here from Amazon with Amazon Prime shipping, this is certainly the easiest option to get your hands on a Stollen, and comes in multiple variations, including marzipan, cranberry, and black forest flavors.
(Image via Butaris on Flickr)