The swiss are very proud of their big range of different bread types. One of them is “Zopf". It is baked in the form of a plait and traditionally eaten on Sunday mornings. It’s slightly sweet and goes very well with jam or cheese. But enough of the talking, here is how it’s done:
Ingredients
1kg flour
60 gr sugar
20 gr salt
6 dl milk
1 egg
1 egg yolk
40 gr. yeast
100g melted butter
Coating
1 egg yolk
1 dash salt
1 shot cream
Serves 8-10 people
Preparation
Add flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Suspend the yeast in the lukewarm milk, add the egg and egg yolk. Add the milk mix to the flour mix and knead it. Add the melted butter and knead it again heavily for minutes (this is your free gym session of the day! Yay!).
When the dough has become smooth put it in the bowl and cover it with a wet dishcloth (you can also use plastic wrap but a dishcloth can be washed and used again 😉 ). Let the dough rest for about 2 hours at a warm place.
When it has doubled it size it is ready for the next step.
Forming & Baking
Dived the dough into 2 equal parts. Take one of the parts and devide it again. Form two strands of equal length and thickness and form a plait.
Here is a video how this is done:
Lay the plait on a iron sheet with baking paper. Let it rest for another 20 minutes.
Coat the plait with the coating. Bake the plait for 20 minutes in the oven with 200 degree Celsius.
After baking your Zopf should look similar to this (I hope you did a better job with braiding than my boyfriend and I did!):
Zopf – the traditional swiss sunday bread!
