Bread of Jesus

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The bread of Jesus is a bread baked during Christmas time and typical of Southern Low Countries.

It has various name according to the location :

• Coquille in Romance Flanders (Lille and Tournai),
• Cougnolle or similar in ancient Hainaut (Cognolle in Mons),
• Cougnou in walloon-speaking places like Charleroi,
• Quéniolle in Cambraisis,
• Volaeren or Folarts in flemish-speaking French Flanders like Dunkirk.

The bread of jesus is a sweet bread formed like a baby Jesus. It is made with flour, eggs, milk, yeast, raisin and sugar. Usually, it is given to children on Christmas and St. Martin's Day and usually enjoyed with a cup of hot chocolate. This bread seems to be born in ancient Hainaut but the bread of Jesus spread in all southern Low Countries parts. It is usually decorated, also differently accross the provinces : with baked clay circles (called Rond) in Hainaut and Romance Flanders, with incisions in Cambraisis, elsewhere it is with flowers, sugar, ...

The Rond were traditionally made with clay coming from Baudour but it is made now with plaster.

[edit] External Link

• (French) History of the bread of Jesus