Hamburg Franzbroetchen

Hamburg’s city portal calls Franzbrötchen a Hamburg speciality and gives this home recipe for about ten pieces. It folds supplied cold butter into a yeast dough and fills the rolled dough with its own cinnamon-and-sugar mixture.

The yeast dough is made from the listed flour, yeast, dough sugar, supplied lukewarm milk, dough butter and salt. On a floured work surface it is rolled to about thirty by twenty-five centimetres. The separate cold filling butter is sliced thinly and laid over half the dough. The other half folds over it; the edges are pressed together and tucked underneath.

The dough is rolled to about fifty by thirty centimetres. A third folds inward from a short side and the remaining third folds over it, making three layers. It is kept cool for ten minutes.

The same dough is rolled to about eighty by forty centimetres and coated with water. The filling cinnamon and sugar are mixed and sprinkled evenly over it. It is rolled from the long side, lightly pressed and cut into pieces about four centimetres wide. The pieces are placed with space between them on a baking tray, and a cooking-spoon handle presses each centre flat.

The oven is preheated to 200°C. The covered pastries rise for fifteen minutes, then bake for about twenty-five minutes in the preheated oven.