Grittibänz recipe

What the name "Grittibänz" means is subject to some discussion, but the word appears to come from central Swiss dialect: "gritti" seems to mean something like "standing astraddle" - with the legs apart - and "Bänz" is a short version of the name "Benedict".

Up to the years of 1930 this "Grittibänz" was only known in the midlands of Switzerland, the area of Basel and in Fribourg and Jura. Later the Nikolaus dough man was spread all over Switzerland due to the media and the bakers and their distribution channels.

To make your own little bread man at home, begin by making a yeast dough and have your kids help you. Following is a super-easy, fast, yummy recipe for Grittibänz:

Ingredients:

• 500 gr flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 70 gr sugar
• 70 gr butter
• 2 dl milk
• 1 egg
• 25 gr yeast
• 1 egg for coating
• For the decoration: raisins, shelled almonds, candied fruit, possibly coarse granulated sugar.

Preparation:

1. Cream the yeast with a little sugar in a cup.
2. Place the flour in a bowl and mix it with salt, sugar, slightly warmed butter, lukewarm milk, the egg and the yeast to a dough.
3. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Cover and leave to rise to twice the amount in a warm place.
4. Knead the dough again, use a knife to cut off pieces of dough in the desired size and roll out to an oval shape.
5. Mark the head by pressing the dough together slightly and turn the head to the back to make the neck. Cut out the arms and legs with scissors and place them in the required position.
6. Decorate the figures with raisins, shelled almonds and candied fruit and trim the hat with remnants of dough. Leave to rise and put in a cold place for 20 to 30 minutes.
7. Before baking, brush with egg and possibly sprinkle with coarse granulated sugar. In a preheated oven, bake for 20 to 30 minutes at medium temperature.