A Slice of German Life

Navigate | LOCAL FLAVOUR A Slice of German Life BAKING A LUSCIOUS LOAF OF STOLLEN IN THE CITY WHERE IT WAS BORN | By MALAVIKA BHATTACHARYA Dresden has 11 Christmas bazaars, of which Striezelmarkt (left) is the largest. Stollen (right), mulled wine, and X’mas trinkets are popular buys. ou have small ATLAS nutmeg. Its beginnings in the seeds that complement the hands,” Michael 14th century weren’t quite as saccharine icing beautifully; Wippler tut-tuts. I’m Dresden, indulgent. The German classic and the sinful raisin variety, “Y Germany struggling with my two kilos of started as austere bread baked generously infused with rum cake dough, trying to coerce the without butter during the and sugar. gooey mixture into an oblong season of Advent (the weeks Then, apron on, I start to loaf. Beside me, the 60-year-old preceding Christmas). There mirror Michael’s actions, master baker swiftly scoops up are many legends around the kneading bits of lard into the his mix with one hand, raises shape of the loaf, one of which dough, pounding at the yeast- it above his head, and slams it says it resembles baby Jesus in risen mix until it begins to feel down on the wooden slab, where Dresden’s swaddling clothes. light and airy. What started Striezelmarkt it lands with a squelch. He flexes I’m learning to make the richer, out as an amoeba-esqe mass (CAKE) is Germany’s S denser version that was born E his ruddy fingers and proceeds oldest of dough gradually transforms G to firmly thwack the dough until Christmas in Dresden during the 17th into a long, oval loaf. It’s dotted it transforms into a polished ball market and century. Wippler Bakery, one of with delicious bits of orange, ETTY IMA ETTY of goodness flecked with plump, dates back to 131 stollen-speciality stores in green, and brown, ready to be G rum-soaked raisins and bits of 1434. It is held the city, is 104 years old. It is run popped into the oven and baked between 27 orange rind. This process is a by Michael, a third-generation at 230°C. SOMBATI/ L Nov and 24 Dec E piece of cake for Wippler. For every year. baker, his wife and two children. The air is heavy with the scent AREK AREK novices like me, his practised In the run up to Christmas, the of rum, butter, and warm cake. T art is incredible to watch. “I Wipplers conduct baking classes, The chatter of happy bakers (SHOP), (SHOP), bake around 1,000 kilos of which begin with a spread of fills the room as Michael and S E stollen every day,” he says, with stollen and steaming coffee for his team pass around another G twinkling eyes and a big smile. the participants. The cosy baking round of coffee and mulled wine. ETTY IMA ETTY “Now, it’s your turn.” room is bathed in orange light When my cake is out of the G Stollen, a cross between and crammed with old weighing oven, he coats it with powdered bread and cake, is loaded with scales, ladles, rolling pins and sugar. “It looks like snow”, raisins, nuts, orange rind, and sacks of flour. I try a sugary he says. To me it looks like lightly infused with lemon zest, loaf that’s chewy and dense; Christmas on a plate, and rum, and spices like ginger and another with the granular poppy tastes even better. SEAN GALLUP/STAFF/ 2 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA | NOVEMBER 2014.

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