Swiss Bread "Zopf"

My ideal rainy day includes a wooly blanket, a cup of aromatic hot tea and a warm piece of pastry. When autumn knocks on the door, it brings crispy golden leaves, cool fresh air and gloomy rainy days. The place I am from has one of the most magnificent autumn looks. In September, in Moscow, when trees loose their summer greenness, all the roads are layered with yellow, brown, golden, purple and red leaves. The days get suddenly shorter giving space to the dark early evenings. At the end of September, finally, the rain and gloominess chase away summer warmth. Somewhere I heard that in spring life wakes up, in summer everything is full of life, in autumn everything grows old and in winter it dies to reborn again in spring:-) To bear with melancholy of autumn, there are some nice things:-) Yes, I am talking about freshly baked goodies:-) Not only they are delightful but they also give another reason to gather close people together.

In Switzerland, on Saturday mornings, we had a fresh Zopf Brot, some jam, orange juice and coffee for breakfast. This cute little tradition gathered the whole family together. I still remember the feeling of sitting inside on a rainy day with a loaf of bread and a cup of freshly brewed coffee. The bread which we usually ate was Zopf. Zopf literally means braid. I also learned that there was another name for this bread - Hallah. The main ingredients are yeast, milk, butter and white flour. When all the ingredients are combined in yeast dough, I let it sit for some time to raise. Yeast dough is one of my favorite types of dough. It is quick, easy and tastes delicious at the end:-) The base recipe for my bread was taken from the On Cooking book we use in culinary class. However, I slightly modified ingredients and steps. So here is the recipe:

Ingredients for 1 medium loaf

For the fermenting mixture
1/2 oz of instant dry east
1 t of sugar
1 T of flour
1/4 cup of very warm water (90F)

For the dough 
1/3 cup of honey
1/2 t of Kosher salt
14 oz of white flour (sifted)
3/4 cup of warm milk
2 large eggs
2 oz of unsalted butter (melted)
1 small egg for egg wash
Sesame or poppy seeds

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix warm water, dry east, sugar and flour. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until the mixture has bubbles.

2. To the mixture, add honey, salt, warm milk and half of the flour. Add eggs and mix well.

3. Add another half of flour and butter. Mix and knead smooth elastic dough. Add some flour if needed.

4. Place the dough in a slightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until the dough is doubled (1 hour approximately).

5. Divide the dough in 3 equal portions. Roll each portion in a long strip. Lay strips side by side so that you to can braid them. Pinch the ends of the braid on each side.

6. Place the braid on a baking sheet (greased or covered with a baking paper). Let it raise for 30 minutes.

7. Meanwhile heat the oven to 350F.

8. When the braid has raisen, brush it with egg wash and sprinkle some sesame or poppy seeds.
Bake the loaf for 35-45 minutes until golden brown.

* Did you know that in order to check if a bread is ready, you can pierce it with a toothpick?! If the toothpick is clean and dry, the bread is ready.

* Did you know that the yeast dough raises better in a warm temperature?!

* I always mix my dough by hands. It helps me to feel how much flour to add.

Bon Appetit!