All Saints' cake Culinary tradition on November 1
Just as the Osterpinze is traditionally part of Easter, the braided Germ-Striezel is also a must for All Saints' Day on November 1st. The history of the sweet plait goes back to ancient times, when braided hair was cut off as a sign of mourning. In many places today, it is customary for children to receive a homemade Striezel from their godparents for "Godngehn" around All Saints' Day. In this blog post, you can find out how the All Saints' Striezel is prepared and plaited in a 6-plait:
Ingredients
for 2 large Striezel:
- 1 kg flour (plain)
- 1 cube of yeast
- 500 ml milk
- 100 g sugar
- 100 g butter
- 2 egg yolks
- a pinch of salt
- some milk or an egg to coat
- possibly granulated sugar
Step 1:
Ever since I made my first All Saints' cake as part of my cooking lessons, it has been served freshly baked every year. It always tastes best when you bake it yourself! The first step is to make the "Dampferl". To do this, crumble the yeast and mix it with a teaspoon of sugar and a little lukewarm milk until smooth. Then fold in a tablespoon of flour and leave the mixture to stand in a warm place for around 20 minutes.
Step 2:
In the meantime, melt the butter in the lukewarm milk before stirring in the egg yolks. In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients, i.e. the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt.
Step 3:
Once the steamed dough has risen a little, it can be added to the flour and mixed with the butter, milk and egg mixture to form a smooth dough. The dough should now rest in a warm place for about an hour.
Step 4:
Once the dough has doubled in volume, you can start braiding. First, six balls are formed, which are rolled into even strands in the next step. To avoid tearing the strands, it is helpful to roll out each strand in two stages.
All beginnings are difficult - At first glance, braiding the 6-strand plait looks quite complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it's a piece of cake. As you can see in the picture, all the strands are gathered into a bundle and divided up so that there are three strands on the right and three on the left, leaving some space in the middle.
For better support, a glass can also be placed at the beginning of the strand. Now place the rightmost strand in the middle and the left, middle strand to the top right. Continue alternately until the end - the outermost strand is placed in the middle, the middle strand on the outside...
The plaited braids are then brushed with egg and decorated with sugar as desired before being baked in the oven at 170 degrees for approx. 30 minutes until golden brown.
Good luck!
