Zürcher Murren

01 / ABOUT THE DISH

About the dish

Zürcher Murren is a braided white bread roll from the German-speaking region of Switzerland that combines milk, butter, yeast, flour, sugar, salt, and malt into a mildly sweet, enriched dough. The earliest written reference to the Murren appears in a state archival document in Zürich dating to 1508, and detailed descriptions matching the rolls we know today appear in late nineteenth-century sources. For many years, the Murren were considered a festive treat because fine white flour was once reserved for special occasions; Zürich bakers originally made them before becoming more widely available across northern and central Switzerland. To prepare the Murren, a dough is made from flour, milk, butter, yeast, sugar, salt, and malt. The dough is allowed to rise, then divided into small pieces. Each piece is given five shallow cuts on top using a special tool, which, after baking, creates the bread’s characteristic star-like or pointed surface. The rolls are coated with egg yolk and baked until golden and glossy. Zürcher Murren are best eaten fresh, often at breakfast with butter, jam or honey, or as a snack alongside coffee or tea. They appear routinely in Swiss bakeries and supermarkets across the German-speaking cantons, typically paired with mild cheeses or a hot beverage.