How to make a Grittibänz – Swiss Christmas bread man

One of the traditional Christmas treats in Switzerland (and other Euro countries) is the Grittibänz, the sweet bread man shown here. You’ll see these in every bakery around town, with many different forms. Some have raisins or chocolate for eyes and buttons, some have sugar sprinkled on top, some carry stick or chocolate bar.

It’s a fun Christmas tradition to make your own with friends or family, so I’m including a super easy recipe below to get you started.

First, a silly vlog of my son and I making Grittibänz.

Grittibänz tradition

I asked lots of my Swiss friends about Grittibänz traditions and there was no consensus. Sometimes Samichlaus gives children a Grittibänz when he visits them at school or when children visit him in the forest. Some friends have Grittibänz for dinner on 6.Dec, which is St. Nicholas day. Some have a family activity once a season to bake it together with family or friends, like I would with gingerbread houses.

Because I was/am a confused immigrant to this country, in our home, Samichlaus leaves a Grittibänz for the children to be discovered the morning of Dec 6, along with a traditional bag of treats (typically peanuts, chocolate, oranges and maybe Lebkuchen – more about that here).

If Samichlaus’ helper forgets to buy them on 5.Dec, she is up late baking them after the children go to bed. I love this new tradition and hope my kids carry it through to the next generation. 

Grittibänz style

Every bakery and grocery around town has their own Grittibänz style and it’s fun to go on a little Grittibänz tour to see the variety. You can see all sorts of crazy Grittibänz on Google Images. Oh, those elves are such good bakers and so creative with their designs.

Most have these elements:

• bowed legs – This helpful post from Crawfish & Caramel explained that the name Grittibänz actually means “man with bowed legs”
• chocolate or raisin eyes, sometimes buttons as well
• scarf – many have a bit of dough wrapped around their neck to look like a scarf
• stick – many have a chocolate bar (typically Branche, but we like Twix) sticking out one side, kinda held by his hand. More traditional ones will have a real wood stick, not edible and not fun.
• hat and coat – some have elaborate clothing designs with bits of twisted and braided dough

Forming the Grittibänz

My recipe below makes 4 small people (or 2 large ones). After the dough has risen, start by forming a log. Then cut slits as shown below to make a head, arms and legs.

Shape the dough so the head, arms and legs look more proportional. You can snip bits off the ends of the legs and arms to use for decoration (the little balls of dough I have sitting in the corner).

I typically add a triangle hat. Then I roll out long strings to add a scarf and trim to the ankles and wrists so he looks like he’s wearing a suit.

I use kitchen scissors to snip a place for the eyes and mouth, though I’ll add chocolate there later so it’s not so important. I like to snip texture on the pants, even though it gets covered with sugar.

I like to let the dough rise about 30 mins before baking. But if you are in a hurry, you can bake it right away. Before baking, brush the dough with egg white and sprinkle with pearl sugar. Don’t put chocolate on it now, it will burn.

Bake about 20-25 mins. When the people come out of the oven, you can press on chocolate eyes and buttons or other decorations. It’s all about creativity.

My boys play baseball so they made this Gritti baseball player. I tried a Gritti-lady but she looked scary!

Special ingredients

In case you are new to Switzerland, here’s what pearl sugar (aka Hagelzucker) and yeast (aka Hefe) look like in Switzerland.

Grittibänz Recipe

Here’s a very simple and quick dough recipe I got from my Swiss friend. It works great for Grittibänz but also good for Butterzopf and little rolls, aka Zöpfli, covered with Hagelzucker (big sugar bits). I was suspicious of this recipe because it only rises 15 mins. But it totally works and is great for kids that can’t wait very long. I think I might go make some right now…

Grittibänz - Swiss Christmas bread man

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

This bread man is traditionally given and eaten on or before 6.Dec, which is the day Samichlaus visits children in Switzerland. This recipe makes enough for 4 small and 2 large Grittibänz.

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Ingredients

• 500 gr flour
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 4 TB sugar
• 1 pkg yeast (about 2.5 tsp)
• 300 ml milk (1 cup)
• 60 g butter (2 oz, 1 TB)
• optional for decoration: pearl sugar, aka Hagelzucker, Branche chocolate sticks, chocolate chips, raisins

Instructions

1. Heat milk and butter to slightly warm (not above 110F/40C or you will kill that yeast). I usually just put them both in the microwave for 1 minute. Set aside.
2. In a stand mixer bowl (or large bowl), combine flour, salt, sugar and yeast.
3. Add the warm milk/butter mixture to the flour mixture and knead with kitchen machine for about 10 mins or by hand about 15 min.
4. 1st rise: Place dough in greased bowl and cover it with a towel. Let it rise for 45-1 hour until the dough has almost doubled in size (or as little as 15 mins if you are in a hurry).
5. Form your dough into the Grittibänz people or whatever shape you like. The recipe make about 4 small men, 1 big braided Zopf loaf or a dozen little rolls.
6. Put the dough on a baking pan lined with baking paper. Brush the bread with egg yolk (or 1 egg mixed). Optionally sprinkle with Hagelzucker (pearl sugar). Don't add chocolate now, it will burn during baking.
7. Optional 2nd rise: You can bake the Grittibänz right away, which works fine. But I'm a little more formal and let my men rise 30 mins or so before baking.
8. Bake in a preheated oven 200°C (400°F) for about 20-25 minutes until it is golden and cooked through. A Zopf loaf will take longer, about 35-45 mins depending on how big it is.
9. When the Grittibänz comes out of the oven, you can add chocolate chips or raisons for eyes or deco.

Notes

If you warm the milk & butter beforehand, you can speed up the rise time. If you want to skip this step, just add the cold milk and softened butter directly to the dry ingredients.

Using the same dough, I sometimes make these homemade versions of Coop’s “sweeties” that my kids love. These are good treats for playgroups or school. But beware: they might just eat the sugar off the top.

Gallery of Grittibänz

In 2019, I walked around Zürich and took pics of all the Grittibänz I could find. Some were tall and very expensive. Some were squished and silly.

Some were smoking, some had rainbow sprinkles, others looked like a meditating Buddha.

At Sprüngli, I found these Santa heads filled with truffle chocolate and smokers with wrapped chocolate sticks to enjoy separately.

So much Christmas baking fun! Will you bake your own or buy this year?