Bauernzelten, South Tyrolean fruit bread for the Christmas season
Bauernzelten is a traditional South Tyrolean fruit bread from the Ultental Valley, a dark, moist loaf packed with figs, nuts, and dried fruits. The rye and wheat dough is spiced with honey, cinnamon, and cloves. A classic of the Advent and Christmas season, it is more fruit than dough.
Bauernzelten is the South Tyrolean "Zelten," a soft fruit bread that is an essential part of every table during Advent. Ultner Brot bakes this 300g loaf from rye and wheat flour, generously filled with figs, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, raisins, and candied lemon peel. This is what Christmas in South Tyrol tastes like.
More fruit and nuts than dough
In Bauernzelten, the dough barely holds the fruit together, so densely are the nuts and dried fruits packed.
Figs and raisins provide sweetness, three types of nuts—almonds, hazelnuts, and walnuts—provide crunch, and the candied lemon peel adds a fine, tart, citrusy note. The loaf is spiced with honey, cinnamon, and cloves, that warm blend that instantly smells like Advent.
Because there is so much dried fruit in the dough, the Bauernzelten stays moist and lasts a long time. When sliced, each piece reveals a dense mosaic of nuts and fruits, dark, glossy, and heavy. There are six different fruits and nuts in every single loaf.
Traditionally, Zelten is baked early in Advent and allowed to rest for a few weeks so that the fruit and spice aromas can fully meld. This is exactly what makes it the ideal staple for the entire Christmas season, one that actually tastes even more well-rounded as the days go by.
A slice for tea, for wine, for the festivities
You should cut the Bauernzelten into thin slices because it is dense and rich.
Classically, a slice is served with good butter, as the mild butter and sweet fruit complement each other well. Zelten tastes just as good with a cup of tea in the afternoon or a glass of red wine in the evening, and during the Christmas season, it goes as well with mulled wine and punch as the Christmas tree does in the living room.
Even as a small dessert after a festive meal, a thin slice is enough, perhaps with a spoonful of cream or a small glass of dessert wine. As a whole loaf wrapped in gift paper, the Bauernzelten makes a lovely gift for hosts—a piece of South Tyrol that everyone is happy to receive. Those who prefer a crispy version can find the same fruit bread as dried Struzen Chips.
A Zelten in the old South Tyrolean way
Zelten is the Christmas pastry of South Tyrol; it varies a little from valley to valley, but it is always a fruit bread for the cold season. The name is derived from the Latin word for flat, as the Zelten was originally a flatbread on which the precious nuts and fruits of the year were festively assembled.
Ultner Brot bakes its Bauernzelten in St. Walburg in the Ultental Valley, where the Schwienbacher family has been making bread and pastries since 1919. Master baker Hannes Schwienbacher runs the bakery in the fourth generation; the bakery has been operating organically since 1982, and the flour comes from their own mill.
Over 100 years of baking experience go into this loaf, and almost everything is handmade, which you can taste in every slice. You can find the entire Ultner assortment with other Christmas specialties like the nut stollen and handmade gingerbread right here on the shelf.
