The New Year's Bread was presented to the children in the Hessian area by their godparents on New Year's Day. It is a white bread made from yeast dough. Sometimes it was in the shape of a pretzel or a double-headed doll, sometimes it was a pastry in the shape of a wheel, with a figure inside, or even a bun in the shape of a hare. All these bread gifts should bring happiness, blessings and a long life to the godchild.
500 grams flour
20 grams fresh yeast
170 millilitres Milk, lukewarm
60 grams raw cane sugar
70 grams butter
1 egg
4 tablespoons sweet cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of nutmeg
1 Egg yolk
1. Sift the flour into a bowl.
2. Make a well in the middle of the flour, add the yeast and the sugar and stir in the lukewarm milk.
3. Leave this pre-dough to rest until it forms bubbles.
4. Add the softened butter, egg, cream, salt and nutmeg, mix with a wooden spoon and finally knead well until the dough has a smooth, homogeneous surface.
5. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave to rest for about 30-45 minutes.
6. Knead briefly again and divide the dough into 5 equal portions of around 180 grams.
7. Roll each piece of dough into ropes about 30-40 cm long with tapered ends.
8. Braid three of the strands into a braid.
9. Place another strand on each side of the braid and roll up the ends into two spirals.
10. Brush the New Year's braid with the egg yolk and bake in the preheated oven at 180°C on the middle rail for about 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
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