DRESDEN, Germany – When pastry chef Tino Gierig is asked what the famous Dresden stollen tastes like, his eyes sparkle and his voice rises to an enthusiastic sing-song as he describes the rich delicacy filled with raisins and other dried fruits.

“Stollen tastes like Christmas, like family, like tradition, like hominess, peace, serenity,” the 55-year-old said as he lovingly kneaded his buttery yeast dough before folding in golden raisins in his Dresdner Backhaus bakery.

Bakers in the eastern German city of Dresden have been making stollen for hundreds of years and it is now a treasured Christmas tradition. It is usually cut on the first weekend of Advent – the four-week period leading up to Christmas – and served with coffee and Christmas cookies.

After baking several loaves of stollen i

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