Heddi is a food blogger at Cuisine Helvetica and the author of two cookbooks, Sweet + Swiss and Swiss Breads.
Connect with her on Instagram (@cuisinehelvetica), on Facebook, and through her website, cuisinehelvetica.com.
Heddi Nieuwsma’s passion for learning about Swiss food and culture led her to start her blog, Cuisine Helvetica, when she moved to the French-speaking city of Neuchâtel, Switzerland, with her family more than a decade ago. Heddi was immediately struck by the number of bakeries she could walk to in her neighborhood and the variety of breads she saw there. Fun fact: Switzerland has more than 200 varieties of bread, many of which are very regional.
During the holidays, Swiss breads from around the country are similar in that they’re made from an enriched dough and often contain dried fruit. You’ll also find regional gingerbreads such as biber (gingerbread filled with almond paste), Luzerner Lebkuchen (gingerbread made with a pear syrup), and (firm rectangular spice breads) in French-speaking Switzerland. On St. Nicholas Day (December 6), , which are little bread men, are baked. Heddi says the loose translation for means “old frail man walking with his legs spread apart.” In French-speaking Switzerland, they’re called .
