How long will the pastries last?
All of our Zingerman’s Bakehouse pastries and coffee cakes are baked with full-flavored ingredients, but without preservatives. The good news is we’ve done the hard work of tasting and testing to ensure that they can be enjoyed for weeks to come.
If enjoying soon, keep them at room temperature.
Each baked good will have an “eat or freeze by” sticker that is about two weeks from when the package ships out. If enjoying the treats within a week or so of delivery, they can be kept at room temperature in the packaging they arrived in or in a plastic bag. Avoid the refrigerator, it can ruin the texture.
If enjoying later, keep them in the freezer.
For longer term storage, all of our baked goods freeze well for up to three months. They can be stored in the freezer in their original packaging or, if they’ve been opened, double wrapped in plastic bags.
After the freezer, it is best to allow frozen pastries and coffee cakes to defrost slowly at room temperature in the packaging. That’s all–though with some pastries like scones, a little warm up in an oven will make them extra delicious.
A closer look at Cranberry Pecan Bread
What makes the Cranberry Pecan Bread one of Zingerman’s holiday classics? Zingerman’s Bakehouse loads each loaf with over half a pound of dried Wisconsin cranberries and toasted pecans. Those flavorful additions are stuffed into a tangy, naturally leavened bread dough made from organic flour. The dough rises slowly, taking its sweet 18-hour (!) time, which gives the bread its incredible texture: chewy, dense, and wonderfully satisfying without being overly sweet.
The Cranberry Pecan bread is surprisingly versatile. The pecans make it a little toasty and roasty, so it’s perfect as a savory foundation for chicken salad or as a crunchy base for a smear of goat cheese or blue cheese. The cranberries add a nice tang and sweetness that will excel in bread pudding or french toast. And if you’re looking to add a touch of beauty to your table, a whole loaf of Cranberry Pecan is a show-stopper.
What makes Zingerman’s stollen so good?
Our stollen is made by the master bakers at Zingerman’s Bakehouse.
They start with a ton of fresh, candied, and dried fruit: fresh lemon zest and juice, fresh orange zest and juice, candied orange peel, candied lemon peel, candied citron, currants, golden raisins, and Red Flame raisins. The indulgence doesn’t stop there. For added texture and aroma, they add almonds, real vanilla, and Indonesian cinnamon.
Rum is also a critical ingredient. So much rum is used to make the stollen that they have to place their order for it well in advance to make sure there’s enough. Otherwise, they’ll end up needing to raid all the local liquor stores. All of the fruit soaks in Bacardi rum for at least 24 hours before being mixed into the dough. The whole loaf is brushed with rum butter three times.
As a final touch, the bread is dusted with cinnamon sugar and blanketed in a thick coating of powdered sugar.
All the butter and sugar allow the bread to keep for weeks without any added preservatives.
It can be stored on the counter, or you can put it in the freezer to prolong your enjoyment.
One year, Amy Emberling, a woman who’s made thousands of stollens during her tenure as one of the owners of Zingerman’s Bakehouse, sent a stollen to her mother-in-law. “She didn’t think she’d like it, so she avoided it for a couple of weeks. When she finally decided to try it, she couldn’t believe how good it was.” You won’t want to wait that long to find out, trust me.