Swiss Braid Bread (Zopf/Tresse/Treccia)

Name: Swiss Braid Bread (Zopf/Tresse/Treccia)
Total time: 10800 s
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 4 cups flour; 3/4 tsp salt; 1 pinch granulated sugar; 1/4 cup melted butter (you can use margarine); 1 1/2 cups + 3 tbsp milk; 1 tsp granulated sugar (yes, more sugar); 3 tsp active dry yeast; 1 egg yolk; 1 tbsp milk

Little Miss Swiss @lil_missswiss

This bread is tradionally eaten for breakfast or brunch on a Sunday, but it's too good to not eat it on other days.

The recipe is for one big "braid" but here I made it into four smaller ones to show you two different braiding techniques. Also because it lasts me slightly longer that way 😅

P.S. the counter is always clean, just looks dirty because the kitchen is old af.

This bread is tradionally eaten for breakfast or brunch on a Sunday, but it's too good to not eat it on other days.

The recipe is for one big "braid" but here I made it into four smaller ones to show you two different braiding techniques. Also because it lasts me slightly longer that way 😅

P.S. the counter is always clean, just looks dirty because the kitchen is old af.

Little Miss Swiss @lil_missswiss

This bread is tradionally eaten for breakfast or brunch on a Sunday, but it's too good to not eat it on other days.

The recipe is for one big "braid" but here I made it into four smaller ones to show you two different braiding techniques. Also because it lasts me slightly longer that way 😅

P.S. the counter is always clean, just looks dirty because the kitchen is old af.

This bread is tradionally eaten for breakfast or brunch on a Sunday, but it's too good to not eat it on other days.

The recipe is for one big "braid" but here I made it into four smaller ones to show you two different braiding techniques. Also because it lasts me slightly longer that way 😅

P.S. the counter is always clean, just looks dirty because the kitchen is old af.

Saved

Ingredients

3 hours

8 servings

4 cupsflour
3/4 tspsalt
1 pinchgranulated sugar
1/4 cupmelted butter (you can use margarine)
1 1/2 cups+ 3 tbsp milk
1 tspgranulated sugar (yes, more sugar)
3 tspactive dry yeast
Egg wash
1egg yolk
1 tbspmilk

Saved

Steps

3 hours

1

Melt butter in a cup and pour in the milk. Test if it's lukewarm and if not reheat just a bit. If it's too hot it will kill the yeast.
2

Add 1 tsp sugar and the yeast. Let that sit for 5 minutes.
3

Meanwhile mix flour, salt and the pinch of sugar in a big bowl. Add yeast mix and combine everything.
4

Knead the dough for roughly 7-10 minutes until completely smooth. Leave it covered in the bowl to rest for 1 1/2 minutes. I usually keep it in a warm oven, but if your place isn't cold keep it on the counter.
5

After impatiently waiting and checking on the dough every 5 min you can punch it down and form a ball.
6

Now divide it into two equal pieces and roll them both out equally as long. Cross them like shown in the photo
7

Now comes the tricky part but once you get the hang of it, it's easy.
Braid both strings, alternating which side goes underneath the other strand. For ex.: first the left string goes over the right, then the right one will be next going over the left strand and so on. It's easiest if you pick up both outer strands at the same time with both hands and basically just cross your hands.
8

Pinch the ends together and tuck it underneath the braid.
9

Different technique is to braid them like you would with hair, so 3 equal strands. Pinch them together at the top and braid it by picking up the outer strands and putting them in de middle, alternating left and right.
10

Roll it up from the "uglier" side so that will stay hidden in the middle of the bun. It will taste the same, just looks prettier.
11

Whisk the egg yolk and tbsp milk toghether and apply an even layer over your dough with a pastry brush. Let the dough rest for 25 minutes before putting on another layer of egg wash. This will give it the nice golden brown colour.
12

Put it in a non-preheated oven for 35 minutes at 375°F/~200°C or until golden brown. You can preheat the oven if you're in a rush but I find it makes the bread fluffier to give in more time in a cooler oven.
Also cut down the baking time to 20-22 minutes if you divide the dough into four buns like I did in the photos
13

Enjoy!