Rhenish New Year's Eve

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 kg flour
• 450 ml milk, lukewarm
• 150 g sugar
• 150 g butter
• 2 packets of yeast
• 2 eggs
• 1 packet of vanilla sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 dl milk
• 15 g salt
• ½ lemon(s), untreated, zest
• Flour for the work surface

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 45 minutes

traditional yeast pastry for New Year’s celebrations

Mix the flour, yeast, sugar, vanilla sugar, salt, and grated lemon zest. I usually put the milk in the microwave with the butter for 1 minute, then it’s warm. Test with your finger to make sure it’s not too hot, otherwise the yeast will die. I let the eggs sit at room temperature for 1 hour beforehand. Add the milk-butter mixture and the eggs to the flour mixture and knead well with a dough hook. The dough can be a bit runny. Let it rise in a warm place for about an hour. I set the convection oven to 50°C at the beginning, then turn it off and let the dough, covered, rise in the oven. When it has doubled in size, flour the work surface well and knead the dough thoroughly. Then divide it into 8 equal pieces. Cut each piece in half and roll it into a rope. Shape each rope into an “S” shape and cross two “S” pieces over each other. This creates 8 New Year’s cookies. Place them on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Whisk the egg yolk with the milk and brush the pastries with it. Let it rise for another 45 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 210°C. Place a baking sheet in the preheated oven and reduce the temperature to 170°C. Bake quickly for about 12 to 15 minutes, then repeat with the second baking sheet. Then let it cool. The New Year’s cookies are usually eaten with jam for breakfast on January 1st.