Závodské osúšky represent a remarkable element in the composition of wedding pastry in Záhorie. They combine the long-standing knowledge of baking from yeast dough with a new way of shaping yeast pastry using moulds for cutting and shaping by layering and gluing. The result is a tiny sourdough pastry with a traditional taste and added aesthetic value.
The sourdough pastry has a well-defined shape – a round pastry base and a filling on which sits a cut-out flower-shaped crown. The filling is visible through a hole in the centre of the crown, which completes the overall appearance of the pastry. Three types of filling are used: curd with raisins, jam (plum jam) and cinnamon.
The traditional name osúch, denoting a smaller, flat, round, savoury or sweet pastry made of bread dough, which has now disappeared in the surrounding villages, is the immediate derivative of the name osúšek. Despite the almost century-long existence of osúšky, their baking has never spread beyond Závod to other, even immediately neighbouring, villages.
Three groups of local women are involved in preserving the tradition of baking osúšky in Závod. The first and largest group comprises housewives who bake osúšky only for their family’s needs. The second group includes a few untrained bakers who bake the pastries in larger quantities upon request, especially for weddings. Finally, a local bakery staffed by local women has included them in its product offer. All three groups of women bake the pastries based on personal knowledge and experience, including using written recipes.
The continuity of the knowledge of baking osúšky between generations is also ensured through the civic associations “Dom 1890” and the Závodzan Folklore Ensemble, as well as through commercial production in the company Cukráreň za Vodú, inc. A special place of presentation is a number of municipal festivals, as well as the folk house “Dom 1890,” one of the living centres of traditional folk culture in the Záhorie region, which seeks to strengthen the younger generation’s relationship to local tradition.
The sourdough pastry has a well-defined shape – a round pastry base and a filling on which sits a cut-out flower-shaped crown. The filling is visible through a hole in the centre of the crown, which completes the overall appearance of the pastry. Three types of filling are used: curd with raisins, jam (plum jam) and cinnamon.
The traditional name osúch, denoting a smaller, flat, round, savoury or sweet pastry made of bread dough, which has now disappeared in the surrounding villages, is the immediate derivative of the name osúšek. Despite the almost century-long existence of osúšky, their baking has never spread beyond Závod to other, even immediately neighbouring, villages.
Three groups of local women are involved in preserving the tradition of baking osúšky in Závod. The first and largest group comprises housewives who bake osúšky only for their family’s needs. The second group includes a few untrained bakers who bake the pastries in larger quantities upon request, especially for weddings. Finally, a local bakery staffed by local women has included them in its product offer. All three groups of women bake the pastries based on personal knowledge and experience, including using written recipes.
The continuity of the knowledge of baking osúšky between generations is also ensured through the civic associations “Dom 1890” and the Závodzan Folklore Ensemble, as well as through commercial production in the company Cukráreň za Vodú, inc. A special place of presentation is a number of municipal festivals, as well as the folk house “Dom 1890,” one of the living centres of traditional folk culture in the Záhorie region, which seeks to strengthen the younger generation’s relationship to local tradition.
Proposal by
FS Závodzan, o. z., Dom 1890, o. z.
Year of Inscription
2024
Certificate number
CTLK-RZNKD-2023/004
