Skip to content
Surf Wiki
Save to docs
geography/germany

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Allerheiligenstriezel

Braided Christmas bread from Germany and Austria

Allerheiligenstriezel

Summary

Braided Christmas bread from Germany and Austria

FieldValue
nameAllerheiligenstriezel
name_langde
name_italicstrue
image20161101 Striezel 012 (31049148355).jpg
image_size200px
alternate_nameStrietzel, Allerseelenzopf, Allerseelenbreze, Seelenspitze, Seelenbrot
place_of_originAustria, Germany (Bavaria)
typePastry
main_ingredientFlour, eggs, yeast, shortening or butter, raisins, milk

Allerheiligenstriezel () or simply Striezel or Strietzel (regional names include Allerseelenzopf, Seelenspitze, Seelenbrot, or Allerseelenbreze) is a braided yeast pastry. Its name means "All Saints' braid" in English and it consists of flour, eggs, yeast, shortening or butter, raisins, milk, salt, and decorating sugar or poppy seeds. Some regional variations also include rum or lemon juice.

The word Striezel is derived from Middle High German strutzel, strützel, in turn from Old High German struzzil. Its further origin is unclear.

History

The first known mention of Striezel in the form of Heiligenstriezel comes from a Nachrichtenbuech () from Saxen in Upper Austria. The early versions of this bread were unbraided and made with a simple dough of wheat, eggs, fat and honey. In later years more complicated braided loaves became customary. In 1840, ** described a custom among the Viennese to exchange the braided loaves on All Saint's Day. In 1929, the mastery of different types of braiding were added to the Bakers Master Examination Regulations in Upper Austria.

Traditions

Striezel}} with raisins and flaked almonds, sprinkled with icing sugar

In Austria and Bavaria Striezel is given to godchildren by their godfathers for All Saints' Day. This tradition has its origin in the ancient funeral cults in which mourning was expressed by a woman's cutting off her braided hair. In the 19th century, it was common to give this rich kind of cake to the poor due to a depiction by the Austrian (Styria) vernacular writer Peter Rosegger. Especially for children in rural areas, the present meant a recompense for poor food and times of hunger throughout the year. Also common (especially in Linz) was the superstition that the luck of the forthcoming year depends on the success of the pastry. If the yeast did not work and the dough did not rise, disaster or death were supposed to follow. Another practice of young men was to mock single women because of their singleness by giving them Striezels made of straw.

In Dresden, the cake is now generally called Dresdner [Christ]stollen, Stollen being an unplaited German cake with a similar recipe. However, its name in the city used to be Dresdner Striezel, and from 1434 gave its name to the Dresdner Striezelmarkt (Dresden Striezel Market). A cake of that name is still (2014) baked in Dresden as a Christmas speciality.

References

References

  1. [[Elmar Seebold. Seebold, Elmar]]. 1999. ''Kluge Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache'', 23rd edition. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, p. 802.
  2. (27 October 2018). "So wird Ihr Allerheiligenstriezel perfekt".
  3. Fielhauer, Helmut. 1966. "Allerheiligenstriezel aus Stroh." ''Volkskundliche Beiträge'' 1: 21–34, p. 21.
  4. "Striezelmarkt".
  5. "Dresdner Striezel".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Allerheiligenstriezel — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report