DistantNews
Support us
First-graders: Bakery tradition for the start of school: Insights into the bakehouse
🇩🇪 Germany /Culture & Society

First-graders: Bakery tradition for the start of school: Insights into the bakehouse

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • A German baker in Eschbach, Hesse, continues a decades-old tradition of baking pretzels for schoolchildren starting first grade.
  • Udo Becker, who runs the bakery in its tenth generation, prepares 16 pretzels using a family recipe and a machine that has been in use for 54 years.
  • The tradition, dating back to the 19th century, symbolizes good luck and blessings for the students' new academic journey.

In the small village of Eschbach, Germany, baker Udo Becker upholds a heartwarming tradition that connects generations: baking pretzels for children embarking on their first day of school. Becker, whose family has run the "BachBäcker" bakery for ten generations, prepared 16 special pretzels for the 2026 school year intake, continuing a practice that dates back to the 19th century.

The process begins with a carefully prepared yeast dough, a recipe refined over generations, containing ingredients like flour, eggs, yeast, salt, water, butter, sugar, and milk powder, with a secret addition of semolina for flavor and preservation. Becker uses a dough-rolling machine purchased 54 years ago, a piece of equipment that has shaped pretzels for countless schoolchildren. After preparing the dough, he rolls it into strands, expertly shapes them into the iconic pretzel form, and lets them rest before brushing them with egg yolk and baking them.

Flour, eggs, yeast, salt, water, butter, sugar, milk powder. And also some semolina for taste and shelf life, that's my secret recipe.

— Udo BeckerListing the ingredients for the traditional school pretzels.

This tradition, rooted in regional festival and baking customs, is more than just a sweet treat. According to Ralf-Jürgen Keller of the Akademie Deutsches Bäckerhandwerk Südwest, the pretzel has symbolized good luck and blessings since the Middle Ages, making it a fitting gift for the start of a new life chapter. While Becker notes that fewer children mean fewer pretzels baked today compared to the past, the ritual remains a cherished custom in parts of Hesse.

The cost of a school pretzel is 19.50 euros, with most made to order. The baking process, from dough preparation to the final bake, involves meticulous steps, including allowing the dough to rise and carefully shaping each pretzel by hand. This enduring practice offers a tangible link to the past and a warm welcome for the future for Eschbach's youngest residents.

There used to be more, we used to bake 30 pretzels. There are simply fewer children.

— Udo BeckerCommenting on the decreasing number of children participating in the tradition.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog