You probably have heard of the German Christmas Stollen, but have you ever heard of Bremer Klaben? Klaben is a German Christmas Bread and a specialty of the town Bremen. A delicious fruit bread, flavored with candied lemon and orange peel that is perfect with a hot cup of coffee after a long advent walk.
I moved to Bremen in 2019 and as I grew up near Frankfurt, and was never really familiar with this bread. My father was born in Bremen, to a baker's family. My uncle Heinz, a retired Bremer Baker, was so kind to give me this recipe.
What is Bremer Klaben?
Klaben is a sweet bread that consists of a dry yeast dough, spiced with raisins, candied citrus peel, and nuts. It is a specialty of the town of Bremen in Germany. You eat this German Christmas Bread from October to December.
Bremen is an old Hanseatic city in northwest Germany and home to the famous Bremen Town Musicians, which is a story written by the brothers Grimm.
Klaben is not only eaten in Bremen but also very common in the state of Saxony, which surrounds Bremen. It is a popular Christmas Market Food in the region.
Since 2009 the term "Bremer Klaben" is protected according to European Law. Only products that are produced in Bremen and in the surrounding regions are allowed to be called Bremer Klaben. [Source: Wikipedia-Bremer Klaben]
As an English speaker, you would pronounce Bremer Klaben as "KLAH-BEN".
What is the difference between Dresdner Stollen and Bremer Klaben?
Some refer to the Klaben and Stollen as two winter brothers from the north and south. (I also have the German Stollen Recipe on the blog). They are not that different. Both are made from a heavy yeast dough and are spiced with almonds, lemon, and orange peel.
However, there are five main differences between the two Christmas breads.
- Klaben consists of more fruit than stollen, whereas stollen has more sugar in the dough.
- Klaben has a moister taste than stollen which has a drier texture.
- Stollen is baked in an oval shape and folded in half to create the iconic form. Klaben is baked in a rectangular bread tin.
- After you bake the stollen, you brush it with melted butter, sprinkle it with sugar, and dust it with icing sugar. The Bremer Klaben you leave plain after baking, or is covered in egg white to make it shine.
- You can eat Klaben also with savory toppings, such as butter, salt, mettwurst (smoked sausage), cheese, or on top of German black bread. Stollen on the other hand you tend to eat exclusively as a sweet snack.
History
The first official mention of the "Bremen Klavenbecker" was in 1593. It is possible that the tradition is even older. Bremen is a town that used to be an important trade route in the Middle Ages. This explains the access to exotic ingredients such as lemon and orange peel.
The high-fat content in relation to the low-liquid content in Klaben makes this sweet Christmas bread very durable. Sailors would take this bread on their long journeys with them.
Today, the first Klaben of the year gets sliced in the famous Bremen town square in November at exactly when the Cathedral bell rings at 11 am. Exactly 100 meters of Klaben is prepared every year and the profits go to a charity.
How to make Klaben
Bremer Klaben is usually baked in a longer and narrower rectangular form than what I used. I learned the secret to a perfect Klaben is to evenly distribute the raisins in the dough (which I failed at). You can achieve this by kneading the dough by hand.
Ingredients:
For the filling:
- 700g /24.6 oz raisins
- 80 g /2.8 oz candied lemon peel
- 40 g /1.4 oz candied orange peel
- 60 g /2.1 oz sliced almonds
- 60 ml rum
For the dough
- 1 kg /36 oz flour (Germany Type 405, UK Plain Flour, USA Pastry Flour)
- 400 g /14 oz butter (softened at room temperature)
- 300 ml lukewarm milk
- 2 packets of yeast, 14 gr or 4 tsp
- 80 g /2.8 oz sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Make these Klaben ingredients yourself
Recipe Steps
- This step should be done ideally the day before, but at least 1 hour before baking. Wash the raisins and drain them in a colander. Place in a bowl with the lemon and orange peel and chopped almonds. Add the rum to the ingredients and mix well. Cover the bowl and leave the flavors to infuse overnight. This will prevent the raisins from drying out the dough too much.
- The next day preheat your oven to its lowest setting. Mine is 50°C or 122°F.
- Add the sugar and yeast to the lukewarm milk. Let this rest for at least for 10 minutes. You should see bubbles forming on the surface. If you cannot see bubbles, then the milk might have been too hot and you will need to start again.
- Place the butter, flour, cardamom, salt, and fresh lemon peel into a mixing bowl. Pour in the milk/yeast mixture and knead the dough for about 5 minutes to a smooth mass using a hand or stand mixer. Turn off your oven, cover the dough with a tea towel and place it in the oven for about 30 minutes to rise.
- Now knead the dough through again and carefully work in the rum-soaked dried fruit.
- Grease 2 rectangular bread pans (23.5 x 12.7 cm/9.5 x 5 Inch) (affiliate link).
- Divide the dough in half and place each half into a bread pan. Cover them with a tea towel. Leave to rise for a further hour. If your house is cold, you can place them back in the turned-off oven. It should still be warm.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C or 356°F top to bottom heat. (Remove the rising Klaben first if necessary) Bake the Klaben for approx 60 minutes. If the top browns too much cover it with a piece of foil or baking parchment. To check if it is done, prick a skewer in the middle. If it comes out clean, it is ready.
How to serve
There are many ways that Klaben is served. Some like to eat it without any topping. However, others like it eat it, spread with butter. Others place it on top of "Schwarzbrot" (dark rye bread). Another option is to eat it with "Mettwurst" which is a raw smoked German Sausage. I like to eat it on its own or spread it with a little butter.
Storage Instructions:
The Bremer Klaben will keep up to three months. Because of its high-fat content, it is especially durable. It is also suitable for freezing.
Interested in German Christmas?
- Read my Guide on German Christmas Food.
- Discover all about German Christmas Market Food
- And see all of our Christmas Recipes
More German Christmas Baking Recipes
- Marzipan Cookies
- Lebkuchenherzen Recipe - German Gingerbread Hearts
- German Butter Cookies
- Vanillakipferl
- Baiser Cookies (Germen Merengue Cookies)
- Kokusmakronen (German Coconut Macaroons)
- Spitzbuben (German Jam Cookies)
- Bethmännchen (Almond Marzipan Cookies)
- German Gingerbread Cake (Gewürzkuchen)
Did you try this recipe?
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Recipe
Bremer Klaben (North German Christmas Bread)
Equipment
- 2 rectangular bread pans (23.5 x 12.7 cm/9.5 x 5 Inch) (affiliate link)
Ingredients
For the fruit filling
- 700 g raisins 24.6 oz
- 80 g candied lemon peel 2.8 oz
- 40 g candied orange peel 1.4 oz
- 60 g sliced almonds 2.1 oz
- 60 ml rum
For the dough
- 1 kg flour 36 oz ( (Germany Type 405, UK Plain Flour, USA Pastry Flour))
- 400 g butter 14 oz (softened at room temperature)
- 300 ml milk 10. fl oz lukewarm
- 2 packs yeast 14 gr or 4 teaspoon
- 80 g sugar 2.8 oz
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamon
Instructions
- This step should be done ideally the day before, but at least 1 hour before baking. Wash the raisins and drain them in a colander. Place in a bowl with the lemon and orange peel and chopped almonds. Add the rum to ingredients and mix well. Cover the bowl and leave the flavours to infuse overnight. This will prevent the raisins from drying out the dough too much.
- The next day preheat your oven to its lowest setting. Mine is 50°C or 122°F.
- Add the sugar and yeast into the lukewarm milk. At leave to rest for 10 minutes. You should see bubbles forming on the surface. If you cannot see bubbles then the milk might have been too hot and you will need to start again.
- Place the butter, flour, cardamon, salt and fresh lemon peel into a mixing bowl. Pour in the milk/yeast mixture and knead the dough for about 5 minutes to a smooth mass using a hand-or stand mixer. Turn off your oven, cover the dough with a tea towel and place it in the oven for about 30 minutes to rise.
- Now knead the dough through again and carefully work in the rum-soaked dried fruit.
- Grease 2 rectangular bread pans (23.5 x 12.7 cm/9.5 x 5 Inch)
- Divide the dough in half and place each half into a bread pan. Cover them with a tea towel. Leave to rise for a further hour. If your house is cold, you can place them back in the turned-off oven. It should still be warm.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C or 356°F top to bottom heat. (Remove the rising Klaben first if necessary) Bake the Klaben for approx 60 minutes. If the top browns too much cover it with a piece of foil or baking parchment. To check if it is done, prick a skewer in the middle. If it comes out clean, it is ready.
Jale Bailey
Hello Marita, I follow your lovely recipe posts on Face Book as a part of the "German Recipes" group. I would like to join your e-mail listing as well please. Thank you.