Stollen

This article is about the food. For the musical term, see Bar form.

Stollen

A Christmas stollen from Dresden
Alternative names	Dutch: Stol, kerststol, or paasstol
Type	Fruit bread
Place of origin	Germany
Main ingredients	Yeast dough, Candied fruit or dried fruit, nuts, spices (cardamom and cinnamon); sugar, powdered sugar or icing sugar

Stollen (German: [ˈʃtɔlən] ^ⓘ or German: [ʃtɔln] ^ⓘ) or stol (Dutch: [stɔl]) is a fruit bread of nuts, spices, and dried or candied fruit, often coated with powdered sugar or icing sugar and often containing marzipan or almond paste. It is a traditional holiday sweet bread in Northwestern Europe, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands. The bread is also popular in Suriname.

In Germany during the Christmas season the cake-like loaves are called Weihnachtsstollen (lit. 'Christmas stollen') or Christstollen (lit. 'Christ stollen'). A ring-shaped Stollen made in a Bundt cake or Gugelhupf pan is called a Stollenkranz (lit. 'stollen wreath'). In the Netherlands the bread is called kerststol (lit. 'Christmas stol') when eaten around Christmas, and paasstol (lit. 'Easter stol') when eaten around Easter.

In Germany, stollen are produced year-round, but are traditionally eaten during Advent or Christmas. In the Netherlands, a full-size stollen is typically only available in the Christmas and Easter seasons, but miniature stollen are sold year-round as a pastry snack.