Zopf (Swiss Braid)
Just as each culture seems to have its everyday bread, each also seems to have its "weekend" bread: bread made with more expensive ingredients, bread a step up the richness ladder from the typical flour/water/yeast/salt loaf. These loaves fall somewhere in between basic breads and holiday breads: unlike holiday breads, they're not overly sweet and aren't enriched with dried fruits or nuts; but the addition of butter, perhaps sugar, eggs and/or milk takes them quite a bit beyond the simple hearth loaf.
The Swiss have long been known for their egg- and dairy-rich breads, as well as their intricately shaped loaves. Zopf, usually formed into a simple three-strand braid, is a basic example of this Swiss art. A staple on weekends, and traditionally offered at New Year's and at meals marking the Emmenthaler cheese harvest, zopf has a very slight tang (from the sour cream).
Ingredients
Dough
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
- 3 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 large eggs (reserve 1 yolk for glaze)
Glaze
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- To make the dough: Warm the sour cream to lukewarm in a microwave, or over very low heat while stirring constantly. Add the butter and stir until melted.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the sour cream mixture, then stir in 1 large egg and 1 egg white.
- Stir until the mixture comes together to form a shaggy mass, then set it aside for 15 minutes.
- Knead the dough — by hand, electric mixer, food processor or bread machine — until it's smooth and elastic, adding a small amount of water or flour, if needed.
- Place it in a greased bowl, cover the bowl, and set the dough aside to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until it's nearly doubled in bulk.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface and knead it gently a few times, to expel the excess carbon dioxide.
- Divide it into three equal pieces, and roll each piece into an 18" log.
- Braid the logs together, pinching them at both ends and tucking the pinched ends under.
- Place the braid on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover it, and allow it to rise for 45 to 50 minutes.
- Toward the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 375°F.
- To make the glaze: Whisk the egg yolk with the water, and brush the braid with this glaze.
- To bake the braid: Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes, or until it's golden brown and shiny.
- Remove bread from the oven and let it cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Store the bread, well-wrapped, at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 1 slice, 47g
- Servings Per Batch 16 slices
Amount Per Serving:
- Calories 146 cal
- Calories from Fat
- Total Fat 6g
- Saturated Fat
- Trans Fat
- Cholesterol 40mg
- Sodium 181mg
- Total Carbohydrate 18g
- Dietary Fiber 1g
- Sugars
- Protein 4g
* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.
Tips from our bakers
- Zopf is traditionally served at breakfast, toasted or not, with butter and/or jam.
- Want to see our video showing how easy it is braiding a three strand loaf? Visit how to braid a three strand loaf.
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Reviews
This recipe was very good. The tang was nice and it turned out well. One downside is that it did around 2 1/2 hours to make.
I made this bread, after following a link from another KA bread recipe. We love the appearance, flavor and texture. Especially tasty when toasted. I admit I nibble off the crust first. I found the dough to be easy to work with (weighed the ingredients). Temperature when done? Thanks.Hi Daisy, we're glad this recipe was such a success for you. This bread should reach 190-195°F when it has finished baking. Enjoy! Kye@KAF
Very nice flavor and texture. I may add just a bit of sugar or honey next time. It didn't get very dark, but crust color was still very pretty. I will make this again.
Love this bread. I first made it solely to use up a container of sour cream and have since bought sour cream specifically to make it, four or five times total. I can't decide whether I like it better toasted or not, or with jam and butter or just butter. This results in me eating it four slices at a time so I can have one of each. I've braided it in a different way each time - moving up from 3-strands to 4 and now 6 with my latest loaf as I was looking for a wider slice.
I was intrigued by the shape of a two-strand zopf so I baked three loafs with the different recipes that I found online. This is the fourth one I tried and I like its texture the best. I changed the recipe a bit using my limited bread baking experience: (1) I soaked the yeast with 2 TBS of water and ½ TBS of sugar for a few minutes. (2) I poured the yeast mixture into a hole that I made in the dry ingredients; I then stir the liquid a little to mix in some of the dry ingredients and let sit for 15 minutes. (3) I melted the butter on stovetop and then add the sour cream; was careful not to over heat the mixture. I braided it like a challah and it looks great! I think I will make this recipe again soon in the future.
well this was my first attempt at making zopf. I trained with a swiss family for years and loved the zopf the mother made. She however wouldn't share the recipe... family secret I guess. So I picked the easiest to read recipe... thus this one. So first the positives. It was really well descriptive. And I definitely think sour cream was in my friends zopf. Some of the other recipes I found did not have it. It smelled good, but did not rise. Thus it didn't look great. That being said here is what I think I did wrong. I'm trying again so we'll see if it turns out. I used the bread maker to kneed. So I decided to kneed by hand. I would not recommend using all purpose flour. Mine did not rise at all. This time I am adding a bit more yeast, and added some baking powder to see if it will rise better (with the all purpose). I got this alteration from a website that showed how to substitute if you don't have bread flour. I hope it turns out this time. I really look forward to having some fresh zopf tonight
I'm sorry you are having trouble with this recipe. It may be in the way you are measuring your flour, which can add too much flour to the dough, or that your yeast is not active enough. Give us a call and we'll be happy to help. Molly @ KAF