Flavors · Hamburgo

Franzbrötchen

Sweet made from fermented, laminated dough with butter, sugar and cinnamon, rolled and pressed until it takes its characteristic flattened shape. Hamburg’s official portal presents it as a specialty of the city.

Traditional sweet from Hamburgo, Hamburgo

Also known as: Hamburger Franzbrötchen

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Germany
Germany
Franzbrötchen — Hamburgo, Germany
Franzbrötchen
Franzbrötchen — Hamburgo, Germany
Franzbrötchen
Franzbrötchen — Hamburgo, Germany
Franzbrötchen
Franzbrötchen — Hamburgo, Germany
Franzbrötchen

Franzbrötchen — Hamburgo, Germany

The Franzbrötchen is a bakery sweet from Hamburg. The dough, fermented and laminated with plenty of butter, is rolled out very thin, topped with sugar and cinnamon and rolled up like a jelly roll. The roll is cut into pieces, and each piece is pressed in the middle with the handle of a wooden spoon or the side of the hand. The press pushes the filling to the sides, where the sugar and cinnamon caramelize in the oven.

Hamburg’s official portal presents it as a specialty of the city, found in almost every bakery. There are versions with raisins, sweet streusel, chocolate chips, marzipan or seeds, but the classic contains only sugar and cinnamon. Outside Hamburg, the Franzbrötchen only began to spread to other German cities in recent decades.

The origin is uncertain. The Foundation of Hamburg Historical Museums notes there are several stories, all equally possible or impossible. The most cited links the name to the period of French occupation, from 1806 to 1814, and to a long French-style bread, the Franzbrot, which a baker allegedly fried in fat. Others mention a bakery in Altona, a contest between brothers or an apprentice who sat on the dough. None of these stories is documented.

In Hamburg, the Franzbrötchen is eaten at breakfast or in the afternoon with coffee, preferably still warm. Bakeries in the city have held contests to choose the best, and each defends its own recipe.

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Where it comes from

Hamburgo , Hamburgo
Hamburg’s official portal presents the Franzbrötchen as a specialty of the city.

Ingredients

Fermented, laminated dough made with flour, milk, butter, sugar, yeast and eggs; filling of sugar and cinnamon. Versions with raisins, chocolate, marzipan or sweet streusel.

How it is eaten

With your hands, preferably warm, accompanied by coffee, at breakfast or in the afternoon.

When it is eaten

Year round.

Your questions

Questions about Franzbrötchen

Why does the Franzbrötchen have that flattened shape?

After being rolled with sugar and cinnamon, the dough is cut and each piece is pressed in the middle. The press pushes the filling to the sides, where it caramelizes in the oven.

Does the Franzbrötchen have a French origin?

It is not known for certain. The most cited explanation links the name to the period of French occupation of Hamburg, from 1806 to 1814, but none of the origin stories is documented.

When is the Franzbrötchen eaten?

At breakfast or in the afternoon, with coffee, preferably still warm. It is found in almost every bakery in Hamburg.

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