Dresden's Giant Stollen Gets a Tech Boost from Engineers
With a few engineer pals thrown into the mix, Dresden's giant stollen production this year took on a whole new twist. "They dig stollen too," master baker Karsten Liebscher shared with the German Press Agency at the Dresden trade fair on Sunday. A total of 30 bakers convened early morning to cook up the XXL Striezel. Over 3,000 pieces of the famous stollen will be up for grabs at the Stollen Festival in Dresden next Saturday (9.12.).
Engineers lending a hand was a novel idea, Liebscher explained. "They're 3D printing enthusiasts. So we figured, why not ask if they could whip us up a blueprint for a giant stollen?" The model built from the 3D printer was instrumental in making the production process easier for the bakers on Sunday. "It provided us with an accurate count of the individual pieces we needed and where they should be placed," he said.
Even with engineering assistance, the job of creating the colossal pastry doesn't come without its challenges. It takes at least six hours from start to finish, with the final layer of powdered sugar delicately dusted atop. This year's edition is expected to weigh in at around 1.8 tons, which is lighter than previous years. "We've made heftier stollen before, but we're keeping it light and leaning into quality motifs," Liebscher noted.
Three weeks prior, the bakers had already baked roughly 270 stollen slabs, which were then assembled to create the behemoth. Each square-shaped brick measures 60 by 40 centimeters and weighs about a pound, making them a festive sweet treat at only ten euros apiece.
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While the 3D-printed model made production a tad smoother, it didn't entirely replace human expertise. Bakers still had to carefully cut and arrange the individual pieces according to the model. If you're looking for a recipe to make your own lighter version of German Christmas Stollen, you might be interested in Gerhild Fulson's "Oma's Christmas Quark Stollen Recipe." This alternative calls for Greek yogurt instead of quark, which cuts back on the aging process and leads to a quicker yet equally delicious pastry[2].
Saxon bakers turned to the German Press Agency for assistance spreading the word on their Dresden giant stollen production. Despite the lightweight focus, master baker Karsten Liebscher remains committed to ensuring the Dresden giant stollen remains nothing short of fantastic.
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[2] Fulson, G. (2023). Oma's Christmas Quark Stollen Recipe. Retrieved from https://www.ifood.tv/recipes/omas-christmas-quark-stollen-recipe-96682
