Making small honey bread is a traditional handicraft characteristic of the Škofja Loka area and its surroundings – the Selca Valley (especially Železniki and Dražgoše), and to a lower extent also the Poljane Valley. The practice of baking honey pastry was documented also in certain other parts of Slovenia, e. g. in the Kamnik, Ljubljana, and Slovenj Gradec areas, but was not so popular and/or hasn’t been safeguarded up to present day, as well as having different characteristics. The artistically designed honey pastries of Škofja Loka are made by putting dough into hand-carved wooden models. Small bread made by imprinting in the wooden mould is called loški kruhek(‘Škofja Loka bread’), mali kruhek (‘small bread’) or medeni kruhek (‘honey bread’) and is made mostly in the town of Škofja Loka and surroundings, while small bread shaped and decorated by hand is called dražgoški kruhek(‘Dražgoše honey bread’), mali kruhek(‘small bread’) or just kruhek (‘bread’), and is produced in the Selca Valley (mostly in Dražgoše and Železniki). Despite differences in the preparation of dough and formatting of the small breads, there is almost no distinction in their use and symbolism. It is a honey pastry made from rye or wheat flour, honey, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and potash or salt of hartshorn or, nowadays, baking soda. There are many variants of the honey dough recipe; in the rough these are more or less the same, differing in detail, especially in the quantities and combinations of spices.
Škofja Loka small honey bread, the loški kruhek, is usually made from pure rye flour or a mixture of black wheat and rye flour. A floral honey and baking soda are added, as well as some spices – various mixtures and ratios of pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger (the latter one not in the past, becoming common seasoning only today). Some hot water is added to the mixed ingredients which are kneaded into a solid honey dough. Honey beads are formed and wrapped in flour, so that the dough doesn't stick to the model into which it is evenly distributed and removed after formatting. Moulded small breads are loaded onto the baking dish and baked between 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the size) in the oven at 150 degrees Celsius. They bake better if a bowl of water is put in the oven alongside. Baked small breads are then coated with honey water.
Recipes for Dražgoše honey bread, the dražgoški kruhek, vary as well. Following the family recipe of Alenka Lotrič and Breda Tolar, transmitted from generation to generation, dough is prepared from various types of quality locally produced honey – chestnut, acacia, spruce, or floral. They add flour, salt of hartshorn, cloves, cinnamon, and water. Small breads are made as soon as the dough is ready, while the mass is still hot and easily moulded. Honey breads are formed manually, by using a knife, a roller, a special pinching knife (šipounk), and toothpicks. They are baked at 180 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes (the baking time is adjusted to the size and thickness of the bread). As soon as they're done, the breads are coated with honey water.
Small breads were and still are made mostly by women who follow traditional forms and motifs, recasting them with their own creativity, and hence every manufacturer shows their own and somewhat unique way of making small bread. In the Selca Valley, hand-shaped small breads are mostly made in the shape of a heart or wedge, as well as in the forms rhombus, pipe, cigar, star, flower, fish, majolica, St. Nicolas, Devil, angel, chicken, scissors, horse, various horseshoes, various types of Christmas tree decoration, and others. The basic shape of the pastry is additionally decorated with flower motifs (e.g. edelweiss, carnation, orchid, ears of corn, small leaves, and tendrils). Traditional forms and motifs are used in the making of models for small bread imprinting. The most common model shapes are the heart, rhombus and circle, decorated by diverse flowery (e.g. flowers, ears of corn, grapevine, carnation), Christian (e.g. Christ’s monogram IHS, Holy Virgin Mary, different saints, angels), and other figurative motifs (e.g. cock, fish, baby, etc.). In the past the models were made of pear or plum wood by self-taught carvers. Currently only a single master of wooden model carving remains active, safeguarding the traditional knowledge. A piece of wood meant for a model is first roughly processed with a chisel, then marked with a desired motif draft. Afterwards it is carved by using different sized chisels and a piston, and finally polished.
Small bread was once baked a few times a year during major holidays (St. Nicholas, Christmas, New Year, Epiphany, Easter), while today it is made on order for wedding and anniversary gifts, and for sale in souvenir shops, at various events and fairs. It is deemed to be one of the most characteristic souvenirs from the Škofja Loka region – or even the whole of Slovenia. While in the past, small honey breads were intended as a consumable gift on special occasions, nowadays they are used predominantly for decoration, as souvenirs, memorabilia and presents. In the last few years, a revival of traditional baking appears to be taking place, and people are starting to make honey bread at home again.
Small honey bread is an important traditional craftsmanship item of the Škofja Loka area. Its safeguarding and development are vital as part of the high-quality tourist and culinary offer. The recipe and techniques of making small bread have been transmitted from generation to generation; nowadays it is transferred also at handicraft workshops and courses. Making small bread is an identification and representational element of the local population.

In the 18^thcentury the knowledge of making small bread was transmitted from the Clarisse and Ursuline nuns to the local population. Since then it was transmitted to the next generations of producers via learning-by-doing. Its production has been identified, inventoried, documented and analysed by several ethnologists and anthropologists since the 1930s. Based on that knowledge, and mostly on the experiences and participation of some interested producers, the Art & Craft Centre of Škofja Loka (Rokodelski center DUO Škofja Loka) introduced workshops, trainings and courses with the master makers, supporting the transmission of skills to a new generations of producers, raising awareness and promoting popularity among the wider population.

The most important are the makers of small bread, mostly women, who follow the traditional forms and motifs, and, at the same time, adapt them to new needs and circumstances by their own creativity. There are four makers evidenced in the Slovenian Register of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and some more unregistered practicing the craft (however, their number has decreased in comparison to that evidenced in the second half of the 19^thand first half of the 20^thcentury). Certain other stakeholders are also involved in the valorisation of the small bread production, first of all the Art & Craft Centre of Škofja Loka (Rokodelski center DUO Škofja Loka), two local museums – Škofja Loka Museum (Loški muzej Škofja Loka) and Železniki Museum (Muzej Železniki), as well as the Municipality of Škofja Loka, the Municipality of Železniki, and the Slovene Ethnographic Museum (Slovenski etnografski muzej). Small bread is well integrated in the local awareness, identifications and self-representation practices on the local, regional and even national level: it is a common present at different anniversaries, a popular souvenir from Škofja Loka and surroundings, and since 2015 an official sweet and souvenir of the Passion Play. Foremost, it is a source of (additional) income, a medium for creativity, and a source of identifications and hence a token of living, becoming and belonging to a social group of the population.