Streuselbrötchen are a type of bread roll topped with a layer of butter crumbs, as Streusel in German means “crumbles” or “sprinkles.”
This week, I was walking home from work when a display of Streuselbrötchen from a bakery window caught my eye. One of my coworkers had advised me to try one earlier, as they are only found in the Aachen region, and this was my chance. They looked perfect for an afternoon snack!
I had no idea what to expect, but I was very curious to see how it would taste and excited to have it as an afternoon snack. It was delicious! The crumbs were harder and crunchier than I was expecting, but overall there was a very pleasant mix of soft bread and chewy crumbs. Though it is called a Brötchen, this did not taste much like bread. It tasted more like a type of cookie. In some bites, you could really taste the butter from the crumbs. After trying one with and one without chocolate chips, I have to admit that the Streuselbrötchen with chocolate was my favorite. The chocolate chips mixed incredibly well with the rest of the flavors!
Streuselbrötchen quickly became my favorite pastry here in Germany, and they taste incredible together with a cup of coffee.
Every baker or bakery has their own twist on Streuselbrötchen, slightly varying in technique or ingredients. Generally, however, bakers first make dough out of ingredients such as flour, sugar, salt and water or milk. Once the dough is formed, kneaded and left to rise, it is rolled into small balls.
