Zopf Zupfe Swiss Braid Bread Food

ZOPF

Steps:

• 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.

ZOPF (TRADITIONAL SWISS PLAITED BREAKFAST BREAD)

Steps:

• Mix together all ingredients except egg yolk to make a soft dough. Knead 10 minutes or so.
• Divide into 4 and make long sausages with the dough.
• Form the sausages into 2 square crosses.
• Plait each cross, using a 4 strand plait, so that you end up with two loaves of plaited bread.
• Put in the fridge until ready to bake- overnight, for example.
• Paint the loaves with a little of the egg yolk.
• Place a water bath under the oven shelf. Bake in the bottom half of a 220 degree Celcius preheated oven for 10 minutes, then turn the temperature down and bake at 200 degrees for 40 minutes.

ZOPF OR BRAIDED BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl mix the warm milk, sugar, salt, butter, egg yolk and 200 g flour.
• Mix with the hook for 1 minute.
• Add the yeast and mix for 2 minutes again.
• Add the remaining 300 g flour and work with the hook.
• When the dough has pulled together and becomes smooth and elastic (after about 5 minutes) you can form the braid.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and roll each piece into a 60 cm long cylinder (or 3 pieces of 30 cm). Braid the pieces together and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. This is the method that I use: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcPnB0Sgc-Q.
• In a small bowl, mix egg white and water and brush the bread with this mixture.
• Let the dough rest after forming for 90 minutes until it doubles in size.
• Bake in the preheated oven at 180°C for 20 to 25 minutes (heat and timing are basing it on convection oven), until golden.

ZOPF-SWISS EGG BREAD (BREAD MACHINE)

Steps:

• Add all the ingredients into the pan according to the order in the manufacturer's instructions.
• Set crust on medium and program for the Basic cycle; press Start.
• When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack.
• Let cool to room temperature before slicing.

ZOPF - GREAT TASTING SWISS BREAD!

Steps:

• Put the flour into a bowl. If you are using a Kitchen Aid you can put it into that mixing bowl.
• Mix 2 teaspoons of salt with flour.
• Make an indentation into the middle of flour.
• Pour 1 dl milk into a cup (microwavable)
• Add 2 tsp sugar into the milk, stir well.
• Heat milk for 30 seconds in the microwave.
• Add 21 grams yeast into the milk and stir well.
• Pour yeast into the indentation in the flour.
• Let the yeast sit for 10 minutes.
• Cut butter into small pieces.
• Put pieces into a pan and melt on medium heat.
• Add 6 dl milk to the melted butter; make sure butter is lukewarm.
• Go back to your flour and yeast and now put the bowl into the mixer and mix on the lowest setting.
• Add the melted butter to the dough while mixing.
• Let mix for 10 minutes.
• Loosen the dough from the bowl and put a wet cloth over the dough. Make sure it is loose to allow room for rising.
• Let sit for one hour.
• Pre heat oven to 425(f).
• Separate dough into two pieces. Each piece will make a single loaf of bread.
• With one of the pieces, separate it into two sections and roll them out and a floured surface. You want to roll them so the middle is the thickest and the ends are slightly narrower.
• Fold dough --
• *start by putting one roll vertically and one on top of it horizontally.
• *fold top part down to bottom (left).
• *fold bottom part to top (right).
• *fold left part to right (top).
• *fold right part to left (bottom).
• *repeat- at end, join parts together.
• Separate an egg yolk from the egg white.
• Break the yolk and add a drop of half and half or heavy cream (optional).
• Use food brush to spread yolk on dough- avoid crevices.
• Put dough into oven with small bowl of water. Put dough on wax paper to prevent the bread from sticking.
• After 10 min., set temperature of oven down to 395(F) for 20 minute.
• Take out of oven. The bread is done.
• Let cool on a cooling rack and enjoy!