Lebküchnerei Düll: Elisenlebkuchen from four generations
Everyone knows Nuremberg Lebkuchen. What legally defines it, and why an Elisenlebkuchen is something completely different from an ordinary Lebkuchen, is known to very few. At Lebküchnerei Düll both can be explained – since 1934.
1934: three kinds of bread and a family name
On 1 February 1934 Friedrich Düll founded a small bakery in Nuremberg with three kinds of bread. For context: a bread roll cost four pfennigs at the time, a filled nut croissant fifteen, and a baker earned 35 marks a week with no holiday entitlement.
Today the Düll family, in the fourth generation, makes original Nuremberg Elisenlebkuchen to an old family recipe. The managing director is Alexander Düll, whose great-grandfather stood in the same bakehouse more than 80 years ago; the Lebküchner Holger Düll shapes the business to this day.
What “Elisenlebkuchen” really means
“Nuremberg Lebkuchen” has been registered EU-wide as a protected geographical indication (PGI) since 1996. That means: this speciality may be made exclusively within the territory of the city of Nuremberg. On its own, the designation says nothing yet about quality.
The difference lies in the word “Elisen”. Elisenlebkuchen are the highest quality grade of Oblatenlebkuchen and must contain at least 25 per cent almonds, hazelnuts or walnuts, while the flour content may not exceed ten per cent. By comparison: Meistersinger-Lebkuchen contain 40 per cent flour and 20 per cent nuts. At Düll the nut content is even at least 44 per cent – that explains why these Lebkuchen are so strikingly moist and heavy.
Handwork at the turntable
Every single Lebkuchen at Düll is made by hand. A wafer ten centimetres in diameter goes onto the turntable, then the Lebküchner cuts off a portion of the mixture with the hand spatula and spreads it into a small mound – “that keeps the Lebkuchen moist”.
The nuts are roasted in-house every day, the Lebkuchen spice mixed in-house to a traditional recipe, the candied orange and lemon peel diced in-house. Dipping is done in Belgian couverture – a tricky job, because even a small difference in temperature makes the chocolate form streaks. In 2016 “Der Feinschmecker” named Düll’s Lebkuchen among the best in the country and noted: just under 120 grams apiece.
Staying small as a decision
Towards Advent up to 6000 Lebkuchen leave the bakehouse each day, made by around 15 confectioners and bakers. At the industrial market leader, up to three million pieces a day come off the line at peak times. The difference is not a figure but an attitude: at Düll every piece is made by hand – and every Elisenlebkuchen is therefore one of a kind.
Our Düll selection
With us you will find the Elisenlebkuchen individually at 100 g each – for example with dark chocolate, orange icing, sugar icing and almonds, Nocciolata or as a vegan dark chocolate version – as well as in the bags of 3 for the Advent table. In our Christmas collection they stand alongside further specialities for the festive season. Anyone who has once tried real Nuremberg Elisenlebkuchen is reluctant to go back to the supermarket version.
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