Reformation rolls
A Reformation bun is a sweet (yeast dough) pastry , usually the size of an apple pocket (diameter approx. 13 cm). It is supposed to symbolize a Luther rose . The Luther Rose (seal of Martin Luther's) has five leaves. Reformation rolls, which only show four instead of five leaves, either originate from the manufacturer's ignorance or are simplified for the production process. In the middle, the Luther rose shows a red heart with a cross. This is symbolized in the Reformation roll with a dollop of jam in the middle and two strips of dough placed crosswise over it. In his day, Martin Luther stamped his writings with the Luther rose in order to identify them as originating from him. This is probably where the black color of the cross comes from, as the stamp / ink is dark. A less widespread theory suspects a different origin of the Reformation bun: It is supposed to represent a bishop's cap, a miter , from the Reformation period. A third theory says that each of the four corners is dedicated to one of Luther's colleagues.
The Reformation bread roll is known in the wide area around Leipzig , that means: among others in Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia . In the area around Dresden and Vogtland, the Reformation bread is known as the equivalent of the Reformation bread. This is round and significantly larger. It is often offered in different sizes from 250 to 1000 grams. In the past, these pastries were also known as Pfaffenkäppchen or Tetzelmütze. The dough is roughly equivalent to a light stollen dough with less butter and raisins than in a traditional Christmas stollen. Most of the Reformation breads are coated with hot apricot jam and then covered with fondant glaze and sprinkled with almond flakes.
It is customary that Reformation rolls are offered by almost all bakeries in the area , especially in October of each year , because October 31 is Reformation Day .
The history of the Reformation bun is largely unclear. However, there is the theory in research that it developed from the traditional pastries of the Catholic St. Martin's Day . “The Martinshörnchen , which is common on Martin's Day, can be found both in the Erfurt area and in Silesia . It must have made its way to the east before the Reformation, because in the state of Saxony the Martin's croissant has been converted into a Reformation bread roll. ”An older theory considers it to be an evangelical modification of similar pastries to All Souls' Day . "The Saxon Reformation bread, a crossbread of November 5th, is visibly a bread of the soul that has remained from the time before the Reformation and today only has a different name."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Pastries from German districts. Edited by Dr. Pelshenke, Director of the Berlin Bakery Institute, Reichsinnungsverband des Bäckerhandwerk, Berlin 1936, p. 173.
- ↑ Matthias Zender: Shape and Change. Essays on Rhenish-Westphalian folklore and cultural research. Bonn 1977, p. 32.
- ^ Journal for Austrian Folklore, 1906, Vol. 12-13, p. 65.