On Pinzen & Striezeln: An Easter Recipe

Preparation:

First, heat the milk with butter and margarine. Then prepare the flour with the dry yeast, salt, sugar, vanilla sugar, and vanilla seeds, rum, lemon zest, and the egg in a bowl. Add the warm milk mixture and knead briefly on a low setting with the mixer. Next, add the buttermilk, knead the dough again briefly, and finally add a splash of mineral water. Finally, knead everything once more on high speed.

Once the dough is firmer, dust some flour over it and shape it into a ball with your hands. Once the ball no longer sticks, place it in a bowl, dust it with a little more flour, and let it rise covered in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.

When the dough has risen nicely:

Braid (twisted loaf): Dust the workspace with a little flour and work on the dough. First, form equal-sized balls. Then roll the balls into three strands of equal length and braid them together. A small tip: If you like, you can also form several thinner strands to make multiple small braids. Good connect the ends together, best done with a little water. Place the braid on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let it rise briefly again. Meanwhile, preheat the oven and beat an egg. Then brush the braid with the egg (this gives it the golden color later), sprinkle some coarse sugar on top (optional), and place it in the preheated oven. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (about 20 minutes). Once the braid turns golden brown, reduce the temperature to 160 degrees Celsius and bake for another 5 minutes.

Buns (round pastries): Dust the work surface with some flour and work the dough. Form even balls and place them on the baking sheet. Let the dough rise briefly again. Meanwhile, preheat the oven and whisk an egg. Then brush the balls with the egg (this will give them a golden color later), sprinkle some coarse sugar on top (optional), and place them in the preheated oven. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes. Then make a cross incision on the balls and continue baking. Once they turn golden brown, reduce the temperature to 160 degrees Celsius and bake for another 5 minutes.
A little tip: You can place an egg (not too hard-boiled) into the buns that are not fully baked yet and bake for the last 2 to 3 minutes. This creates pretty egg baskets!

Let cool and simply enjoy: plain, with butter, or with jam!