Weckmänner
As the weather gets colder, we are coming up to the time of comfort foods and baking. Weckmänner are perfect! You can eat them for breakfast or with a cup of tea in the afternoon. They are easy very to bake and, unlike many breads, don’t need a lot of kneading. Indeed, the most difficult part was finding somewhere warm for proofing the dough.
St Martin
Weckmänner supposedly resemble St Martin and are eaten around St Martins Day (11 November). In some areas, they are said to resemble St Nicholaus and are eaten until 6 December. Both were bishops.
Weckmann literally means ‘wake man’, more traditionally ‘watchman’. Weckmänner is the German plural of Weckmann. They are also known as Stutenkerle, Piepenkerle, Hefekerle, Kloskaehlsche, Printenmänner, Hanselmänner, Klasenmänner or Jahresmänner, depending on where you live in Germany.
The pipes
The clay pipe that the Weckmänner traditionally hold is supposed to resemble the bishop’s crosier. How did the crosier become a pipe? No one is really sure.
Unless you live in Germany, you will probably find it difficult to get the ‘pipe’. Even if you do live in Germany, the pipes are not that easy to obtain.
There are sets of ten available on amazon, such as this one. However, I didn’t want to make ten Weckmänner and I doubt you will either (they can be quite filling). Instead, I washed and reused the pipes of three that we bought at the bakery.
If you can’t get a pipe: don’t worry. Many bakeries are now baking them without pipes to be more environmentally friendly (and lower costs) I assume. The pipe also looks nothing like a crosier, which it originally represented.
They will still taste the same without pipe. It also leaves more space for buttons, if that is what you wish.
The Weckmann dough
Weckmänner
The Weckmann dough is worth making if you are not religious and don’t want to make a baked good that resembles a bishop. It is a simple and tasty dough that evidences you what German baked goods are like.
Here the dough is also used for sweet pretzels, smaller people shapes and just simple rolls. Sometimes the orange peel is omitted and sometimes more raisins or almond slithers are added. You can eat them plain or with butter.
Why not bake some Weckmänner today?
Are you looking for something simple and comforting to bake? Try Weckmänner (or indeed any form you wish to make with the dough). They are easy to make, tasty and suitable for both small children and adults. You will also be able to boast that you made some traditional German baked goods.
A simple and tasty recipe for a traditional German baked good. Eat it now, when they are customarily eaten or at any time that you just want some comfort.
Ingredients
- 500 g flour
- 1 packet or cube of yeast
- 250 ml lukewarm milk
- 125 g melted butter
- 100 g fine sugar
- grated rind from half an orange
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla sugar or essence
- 1 egg (size L or XL)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 good pinch of salt
- Raisins for eyes (and buttons if desired)
- Extra flour to flour the board
- MIlk for brushing
Instructions
- Activate the yeast: crumble the yeast into a bowl and add the milk and 1 tbsp. of the sugar and let it stand for a few minutes. The milk will start to go frothy and the yeast will start to spread.
- Add the other ingredients and mix with your hand until all is combined.
- Cover and put somewhere warm to proof until the dough has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 180°c fan-forced.
- Turn out onto a floured board and use your fingers to flatten and spread until about 2-3 cm thick.
- Use a large gingerbread man form to cut out the Weckmänner. If you don’t have a gingerbread man form, roughly sculpt the form of a person with dough. Place raisins where the eyes and buttons should be.
- Brush with milk and bake for about 20 minutes.
Notes
When activating the milk, ensure that the milk is not too warm, but not cold. For me, that meant warming the milk in the microwave for 45 seconds and stirring well to ensure that it was all the same temperature.
Our dough needed approximately 30 minutes to proof. Adjust your time as needed.
Push the raisons into the dough. The dough will rise more with baking, forcing the raisons to pop out (as happened with ours).
Baking time will depend on the size and thickness of the Weckmänner. Don’t let them get too dark. If they are darkening and are not yet ready to take out of the oven, cover with aluminium foil and continue baking until ready.
2 Comments
Jenn Summers
I had never heard of these until now, they sound amazing and look oh so cute!
Rachael Matthews
They have become my comfort food at this time of year – at least until we start baking Christmas cookies.