Weggen

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 800 g flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 50 g sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ bottle of bitter almond flavor
• ½ pack of yeast
• ½ liter milk, lukewarm
• 65 g butter, liquid
• 500 g raisins
• Fat, for the tray

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

Pastries for the birth of a child

Combine 500g of flour, salt, sugar, egg yolk, bitter almond oil, yeast, lukewarm milk, and melted butter in a mixing bowl and knead for 5 minutes. Then knead in the washed raisins and add enough of the remaining flour to make the dough less sticky. Let the dough rise for about 20 minutes, then knead thoroughly. Place it on a greased baking sheet, let it rise again, and bake at 200°C for about 50 minutes. The name “Weggen” comes from northern Germany. This raisin bread was baked to celebrate the birth of a child and brought to the happy parents. Even today, “Der Weggen gebracht” (The Weggen brought): Friends have a large Weggen baked with the child’s name on it. The bread rests on a wooden ladder, from which coffee, butter, and rusks hang in cloth bags. The Weggenbringer wears wooden shoes and a blue or red scarf tied around their necks. The women wear a white blouse and a black skirt, the men a black suit with a white shirt and a top hat. They then go from house to house asking for directions to the child. The “road map” that is then given in the houses consists of schnapps or liqueur. At the end, the parents serve a “Weggen” (traditional German bread) with butter, cheese, ham, and coffee.