Luxembourg has lots of quaint annual traditions, but above all, Bretzelsonndeg (Pretzel Sunday) on the fourth Sunday of Lent is a really lovely example. On this day, which happens to be next Sunday on 15 March, a man should offer his beloved a sweet pretzel. If she accepts, she in return will give her man an (chocolate) egg for Easter. If she refuses, she gives him a basket – hence the Luxembourgish expression ‘hie krut de Kuef’ (he got the basket) if you get dumped.
During leap years, the tradition reverses. Then, the woman then offers a pretzel in return for an Easter egg. You will find pretzels in every bakery in Luxembourg at this time of year, but if you really want to impress your love, I think you should bake the pretzel yourself with my foolproof recipe.
Makes 2 pretzels – Prep: 45 min – Proving: 1h + 2h setting of the icing – Oven: 25 min
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 milk 20g flaked almonds
Melt the butter and set aside. 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. You want a soft, slightly sticky dough.
Cover the bowl 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 only adding 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 70x30cm. Cut the rectangle into four long strips. Spread the filling over two strips, then top each one with another dough strip.
Carefully twist each piece of pastry so it looks like a curly straw, then twist into a bretzel shape and put each onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Cover each bretzel with a teatowel and leave to rise for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the leftover egg yolk with a tablespoon of milk.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan.
After 30 minutes, brush each bretzel with the egg wash.
Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.
As soon as the bretzels come out of the oven, brush them with apricot jam, then transfer onto a wire rack to cool.
Once cool, mix the icing sugar with the milk into a thick icing. Toast the flaked almonds in a frying pan until golden.
Drizzle each bretzel with icing and sprinkle with almond flakes.
Leave to set for at least two hours before serving, so that the icing becomes firm.
Storage: The bretzels are best on the day they are baked. If you want to bake them a day ahead, just reheat them a bit in a warm oven before serving in the morning. I usually cut one of the bretzel into individual portions, which I freeze on the day of baking and lightly heat up in the microwave for breakfast throughout the week.
Recipe by Anne’s Kitchen
