Grandma's Swiss New Year's Bread (Zuepfe)

Name: Grandma's Swiss New Year's Bread (Zuepfe)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 3 h 45 min
Yield: 1 loaf
Ingredients: 3 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast; 3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C), divided; 1 pint heavy cream; 1 cup butter; 6 eggs; 3 tablespoons salt; 8 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed; 1 egg, beaten; 1 tablespoon water

2 Ratings
2 Reviews
2 Photos

My Grandma's Grandma brought this with her to the US from Switzerland in the mid 1800's. Every generation of our family makes this Swiss Zuepfe for New Year's, sharing with those who aren't bakers. Eat with butter - do not disrespect this bread by using margarine in it or on it! It also makes the most delicious French toast I have ever had.

By djrtowle

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Recipe Summary

cook:

35 mins

additional:

2 hrs 50 mins

total:

3 hrs 45 mins

prep:

20 mins

Servings:

Yield:

1 loaf

Nutrition Info

Ingredients

Original recipe yields 16 servings

The ingredient list now reflects the servings specified

3 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C), divided
1 pint heavy cream
1 cup butter
6 eggs
3 tablespoons salt
8 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon water

Directions

Step 1
Pour yeast into 1 cup water and set aside.

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Step 2
Heat heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat until scalding, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter to melt; add remaining 2 cups warm water. Add eggs and salt; mix until all butter is melted. Pour in yeast mixture and stir.
Step 3
Beat 4 cups flour into the cream mixture with an electric mixer until well combined, adding more flour as needed to make a very stiff dough.
Step 4
Turn dough out onto a heavily floured surface. Knead in about 4 more cups of flour until it is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticks. Turn into a large greased bowl and let rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
Step 5
Knead down and let rise again, about 30 minutes.
Step 6
Divide dough into 6 long strands. Overlap 2 strands at a time into an upside-down "U" and braid. Place onto an ungreased baking sheet. Combine beaten egg and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl; brush loaf with wash. Let rise for about 20 minutes more.
Step 7
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Step 8
Bake in the preheated oven until golden, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly before eating.

Cook's Notes:

Using a large stand mixer saves on stirring. This recipe makes one braid (zuepfe) and four doves or three braids.

My Grandma made four strand braids. Check out YouTube for demonstrations on how to braid four strand challah. If you'd like smaller loaves, make strands into knots to form "doves."

Grandma would use scissors to snip feathers and put in whole cloves for eyes.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

467 calories; protein 10.4g; carbohydrates 49.2g; fat 25.3g; cholesterol 151.2mg; sodium 1434.5mg. Full Nutrition

JenniJenni82

05/03/2022

I was hesitant to try this bread for a few reasons... 1) I've never plaited bread before. 2) The ratio of liquid to flour seemed a bit odd. 3) It seemed like it would make a lot of bread. 2 out of 3 of these concerns turned out to be valid. 1) I found an amazing video on youtube regarding plaiting. And that made it incredibly easy for me ( https://www.google.com/search?q=braiding+bread+dough+4+strands&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:736e92cc,vid:Sk__PPaAwOE,st:0 ). 2) The ratio was off. After 8 cups of flour, I had a gloopy mess that couldn't be kneaded. It ended up taking over 12 cups of flour to get the right consistency. 3) It did make a LOT of bread. I should have made 4 loaves rather than 2, then I would be able to fit them into ziplocks. As is, I have 2 monster loaves on my hands, that each fill an entire paper grocery bag. That said, the bread tastes phenomenal! Its sturdy enough for sandwiches. It's amazing as French toast. Simply spreading it with butter and sprinkling with a few grains of salt on top is addictive.

I would recommend halving the recipe, increasing the flour 50% - and you'll still get 2 normal sized loaves out of it. I posted a pic of my 2 monsters with a 5x9" loaf pan for scale.

ding dong

04/03/2021

I followed this recipe to a T, and I had soup. So I think there is supposed to be 16 cups of flour. Next time I will 1/2 the liquids. Because this makes a boat load of Zupfe. Will post pictures when done.

2 Ratings

5 star values: 0
4 star values: 1
3 star values: 1
2 star values: 0
1 star values: 0

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JenniJenni82

05/03/2022

I would recommend halving the recipe, increasing the flour 50% - and you'll still get 2 normal sized loaves out of it. I posted a pic of my 2 monsters with a 5x9" loaf pan for scale.

ding dong

04/03/2021

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Grandma's Swiss New Year's Bread (Zuepfe)

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Recipe Summary

Ingredients

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Cook's Notes:

Nutrition Facts

Reviews (2)

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Grandma's Swiss New Year's Bread (Zuepfe)

Gallery

Recipe Summary

Ingredients

Directions

Cook's Notes:

Nutrition Facts

Reviews (2)

Most helpful positive review

Most helpful critical review

All Reviews for Grandma's Swiss New Year's Bread (Zuepfe)