Zopf Recipe

Zopf

Recipe by: Victoria Marler

"I discovered this Swiss Sunday bread when I was visiting friends in Switzerland. One of these friends is a pastry chef! The measurements given to me were metric, so I had to convert them. This makes a beautiful loaf and is super easy to make!"

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Add the egg yolk, butter and 2 cups of bread flour; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces and roll each piece into a 14 inch long cylinder. Braid the pieces together and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a small bowl, beat together egg white and water. Brush risen loaf with egg wash and bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25, until golden.

Get the magazine

Get a full year for $10!

Cook 5-star weekday dinners every time.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving: 38 calories; 2.8 1.6 1.7 24 30 Full nutrition

By Patricia Guerra

How much yeast is in a package of yeast?

By Tim Claxton

Can I freeze dough and then bake it later?

By Tiffany J.

I want my bread loaves to have a thicker crust. What can I do?

Ask Your Question

Reviews

Read all reviews

37 Ratings

Most helpful positive review

Mooneybeams
- 2
- 1

11/4/2008

Great recipe and a fantastic bread. My only comment - my stepmother is Swiss and she lets the bread rise for 30 mins before plaiting, and then lets it rise a further 30 mins after plaiting. Th...

Most helpful critical review

BakingBot
- 1k
- 414

2/8/2008

Texture: amazing- soft, toasts very well, dough easy to braid and work with. Taste: very very bland. This would be good to dip into flavored olive oil, or toast with honey or jam. But as a b...

Most helpful

Most positive

Least positive

Newest

Mooneybeams
- 2
- 1

11/4/2008

Great recipe and a fantastic bread. My only comment - my stepmother is Swiss and she lets the bread rise for 30 mins before plaiting, and then lets it rise a further 30 mins after plaiting. Th...

BUSINGER
- 0
- 1

7/8/2001

A wonderful recipe for a great bread. This bread is great with butter and honey, or just jam, on relaxing Sunday mornings. Be sure to use *whole milk* (not skim milk) or you will get a bread t...

Stewart Shearer
- 0
- 1

6/29/2008

Salt is very important; otherwise it will be too bland, as the previous reviewer said. I also use a 15% Spelt Flour / 85% All purpose flour mix; it makes the texture much closer to real Zopf b...

BakingBot
- 1k
- 414

2/8/2008

Texture: amazing- soft, toasts very well, dough easy to braid and work with. Taste: very very bland. This would be good to dip into flavored olive oil, or toast with honey or jam. But as a b...

Severine
- 60
- 4

9/25/2006

I am so happy!! Ive been born and raised in Switzerland and moved to the USA after ive gotten married to my american husband. I am very happy here but i sure missed my Zopf. Now I am able to bak...

DONNA
- 127
- 4

1/21/2003

great recipie, highly recommend. old world style texture and flavor

Sunny
- 113
- 39

10/2/2008

Absolutely delicious! Mine turned out perfectly, and looked beautiful. I would definitely brush over with butter, and not egg/water mixture though. Also, it needed a little salt.

EFONSY
- 1
- 4

5/24/2004

Delicious! Be sure to use whole milk so it has its nice creamy taste! It's great with a soup, and its very addicting - disappears quickly.

LMcRoy
- 128
- 1

4/3/2003

This bread would have been very good if it had salt in the ingredients. It cooked for only 16 minutes before turning brown and was not cooked all the way through. It did look good and had good...

Zopf

Ingredients

Directions