Fasnacht - Make your own Fastenwähe

How the Fastenwähe originally came about is not entirely clear from history. One legend tells that it was actually a "fasting crow" in the past. People used to catch crows and eat them as a meal. Until a new king took over the regency and banned this old custom, as he considered crows to be sacred animals. As an alternative, the people then made a pastry from yeast dough , which they baked in the shape of crows.

Today, the Fastenwähe is simply part of carnival . In some Swiss regions, it can be bought from Epiphany until the end of the carnival .

If you want to make your own Fastenwähe, here is the recipe for approx. 12 pieces:

• Mix 500g flour, 2TL salt and ½ cube (approx. 20g) crumbled yeast in a bowl. Add 175g soft butter and 2dl lukewarm milk and mix everything together to form a dough . Knead until a soft, smooth dough forms and leave to rise at room temperature for 1 hour until doubled in size.
• Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Roll out each piece into an oval shape approx. 7 mm thick. Cut four slits approx. 4 cm long lengthways. Divide the pieces of dough between three baking sheets. Pull the pieces of dough slightly apart so that the slits open up and form a kind of lattice. Place one baking paper on an inverted baking tray and brush the Fastenwähen with egg yolk and sprinkle with a little caraway .
• Bake the Fastenwähen for 10-12 minutes in an oven preheated to 230 degrees. Repeat the process with the remaining prepared Fastenwähen.

En Guete and a happy carnival season!