One of the nicest traditions in Luxembourg is Bretzelsonndeg (bretzel Sunday). On that day you give your beloved a sweet bretzel and in return you receive an Easter egg for Easter.
You can of course buy a bretzel at the bakery, but with my easy recipe it’s really no fuss to bake one at home!
This year Bretzelsonndeg will be on the 19th March 2023 – so make sure to put it down in your diary!
Find the recipe here in Luxembourgish.
For the dough:
80g butter
250ml full fat milk, lukewarm
25g fresh yeast
500g flour (T55)
40g sugar
¾ tsp salt
1 egg
For the filling:
160g ground almonds
60g dark brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
a pinch of salt
1 egg
4 tbsp apricot jam
For the icing:
A bit of apricot jam
70g icing sugar
1 tbsp full fat milk
20g flaked almonds
Makes 2 pretzels – Prep: 45min – Resting: 1h + 2h setting of the icing – Oven: 25min
Melt the butter and leave to cool slightly.
Crumble the yeast into the milk, and stir to dissolve.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt. Add the melted butter, milk and egg to the flour while kneading with the kneading attachment of a freestanding mixer. Knead the dough in the machine for 5 minutes (or for 10 minutes if kneading by hand). You want a soft, slightly sticky dough.
Cover the bowl with the dough with a teatowel and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling: put the almonds, dark brown sugar, cinnamon and pinch of salt in a bowl. Separate the egg an only add the egg white to the bowl – reserve the egg yolk for later. Add the apricot jam and mix, adding a bit of water if it seems too dry.
Turn the dough onto a flour-dusted work surface and roll into a rectangle approximately 70 x 30 cm. Cut the rectangle four long strips. Spread the filling over two strips, then top each with another bar dough strip.
Carefully twist each piece of pastry so it looks like a curly straw, then twist into a pretzel shape and put onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Cover with two teatowels and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the leftover egg yolk with a tablespoon of milk.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
Before they go in the oven, brush each knot with the egg wash.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. As soon as they come out of the oven, brush the hot pretzels with apricot jam and transfer onto a wire rack to cool.
Once cool, make the icing: mix the icing sugar with the milk to become a thick icing. Toast the flaked almonds in a frying pan until browned.
Drizzle each pretzel with icing and sprinkle with almond flakes.
Leave to set for at least 2 hours before serving, so that the icing becomes firm.
Merci Anne,
Dëss Joer maen ech d’brezel selwer…maen awer nach e bessi cacao an d’fëllung. 😛
Ah dat ass och gutt 🙂 Looss dir se gutt schmaachen!
Merci villmolls. Dat ass perfekt! Ech hunn dat juste fir meng Kanner gemaach 🙂
Ah dat freet mech mega! Hoffen dir hat e schéinen Bretzelsonndeg!
Greetings from Florida, USA! Thank you for sharing this recipe and helping me engage with my Lux heritage!
Glad to hear that, and a big hello to the other side of the big pond! Hope I can keep inspiring you and connecting with your Luxembourgish roots!
Bonjour
Merci beaucoup pour le partage de la recette ! Pouvez-vous indiquer la quantité de farine nécessaire ?
Oups… avec la traduction en français l’affichage est modifié et je n’ai pas vu immédiatement la quantité de farine 500gr…
J’espère que tout c’est bien passé et que vous avez aimé la Bretzel 🙂
My Luxembourgish girlfriend, Catherine, kept sharing your videos up till Bretzelsonndeg so I gave it a go. Hope she’ll like the surprise when she comes home. Wish me luck 🙂
Oh fantastic, I hope it all turned out well and your girlfriend was impressed by this lovely surprise!