First of all, to begin with, what is a paschal lamb?
"Lammele", that means "little paschal lamb"in Alsatian dialect.
But why a Lammele at Easter?
This Alsatian tradition was born in the 16th century when this little lamb Christian symbol is shared on the morning of the day of Easter. At the time, the groom offered a Lammele to his bride as a symbol of love and the children received it when they returned from Easter Sunday mass.
This traditional Alsatian pastry in the shape of lamb is expected by everyone every year. It is from this Christian custom 500 years old as the recipe for Lammele was born, and not by chance!
During the period of Lent, we kept the eggs because consumption was prohibited. The fact of making this cookie with the eggs also allowed all the stock that we had stored during all that period to be used up!
Le Lammele is traditionally cooked in a terracotta mold at Soufflenheim pottery in order to preserve the delicate citrus scent of this lamb for longer when cooked.
When it comes out of the oven, the Pascal lamb is covered with icing sugar and decorated with a small tissue paper flag in the color of the Vatican (yellow and white) or Alsace (red and white) or even in the colors of spring pink, green, blue ...
Every year at this time, after an Alsatian bakery do not depart from this traditional du Lammele, the famous Easter lamb so popular in our region. Find the list of our partners, where you can get yourself that delicious temptation.
The Lammele mold from the Potters of Soufflenheim
Ce traditional Alsatian mold lamb shaped is made of food-grade clay in Soufflenheim 12 km from Haguenau.
Whether it is Baeckeoffe terrines, Kougelhopf mussels, plates, jugs or gratin dishes, all Culinary pottery from Soufflenheim are of various shapes and colors, decorated by hand with traditional motifs and often transmitted from generation to generation.
The potters of Soufflenheim in perpetual search for modernity while respecting traditions, have been able to adapt to modern household needs and offer products that are easy to use and maintain. Lthe natural properties of terracotta allow a healthy and light cooking without fat which preserves the intact taste of the food. The terracotta mold which makes it possible to make the traditional Pascal lamb biscuit requires 13 manufacturing steps at the Siegfried-Burger Pottery, which is why few potters still make it.
Alsatian Pottery from Soufflenheim, a guarantee of quality
The excellence of the work of the potters of Alsace is guaranteed by a punch present under each of the pottery. This label certifies that the part is designed and produced 100% in the workshops of Soufflenheim.
To find out more about the potteries of Soufflenheim and their workshops
Activities of the Soufflenheim Pottery Tour, available at the Tourist Office or by download for meet the craftsmen, enter the secret of their manufacture and equip your kitchen !
Lammele: an Alsatian recipe between tradition and modernity!
Pierre, curious, gastronome and Alsatian traveler, from the blog "Peter the Explorer"kindly shared his recipe with us.
In this period around Easter, "I close my eyes and I have memories of those lambs in their mold coming back to me, of me waiting in front of the oven for the dough to rise, of that smell of hot sponge cake from Lammele just unmolded… and finally like a desire to share my recipe with you ".
Traditional recipe
Ingredients for 4 paschal lambs:
- 8 eggs
- 350g of sugar
- 266g of flour and 134g of cornstarch (400g in total: 266g + 134g… starch is THE secret for a lamb that is not too dry)
- 1/2 package of baking powder
Preheat the oven to 165 °. Separate the whites from the yolks. In a bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar until you obtain a creamy and frothy mixture.
Meanwhile, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks with a pinch of salt. Then add the snow whites obtained to the creamy mixture delicately, taking care not to break them.
Sift the flour / starch / yeast mixture until a homogeneous dough is obtained.
Remember to butter the mold well. Cooking: 40 to 45 min, monitor with a knife tip. Let cool and delicately unmold, let cool then sprinkle with icing sugar.
Good tasting !
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Tourist Office of Pays de Hagenau
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