Rohrnudeln    

Rohrnudeln are cube shaped yeast cakes with an edge which is from seven to ten centimetres long. They are golden brown in colour. They have a delicately sweet flavour. Rohrnudeln are available either without fillings or with a filling made from fruit. The top side is often sprinkled with sugar.

Rohrnudeln are traditionally eaten hot with compote or vanilla sauce as a meat-free lunch on Fridays. However, they can also be eaten cold to accompany a cup of coffee.

Rohrnudeln are eaten throughout Bavaria.

These cakes originate from the home bakery and have Christian origins. Meat was avoided on Fridays, the day of fasting during the week. As a result, lunch consisted mainly of sweet dishes. Rohrnudeln are a traditional sweet fasting meal.

Flour, yeast, milk, sugar, egg, salt, butter, clarified butter

Mix the flour with the salt. Make a well in the middle, crumble the yeast into it and mix in the sugar and half of the lukewarm milk. Cover this initial dough mixture and allow it to rise for 20 minutes. Now melt the butter in the remaining milk and add it with sugar to the dough. Knead the mixture until the dough comes away from the bottom of the bowl. Cover it with a cloth and allow it to rise in a warm place for 40 minutes. To make the filling, stone the damson plums or cherries. When the dough as risen, use a tablespoon to take portions of the dough and shape these into balls on a board. Make a well in the middle of each ball and fill this space with a few cherries or one to two damson plums. Then pull the dough back to cover the fruit. With this side pointing downwards, place the Rohrnudeln next to each other in a longish baking tray well greased with clarified butter. Cover and allow them to rise once again. Brush them with butter and bake them at 200°C for half an hour until they are a golden colour. Remove them from the baking tray, allow them to cool on a rack and sprinkle sugar over the top side. One variety of Rohrnudeln are “Drahden Nudeln” which are fried in hot fat instead of being baked in a baking tray. In order to achieve the rotated “drahde” shape, the dough balls are first turned to form a circle and then to form an eight.

Rohrnudeln are available in Southern Bavarian bakeries all year round.