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Moist Braided Sweet Bread from Grandma's Baking Book

Prep
10 min
Bake
30 min
Total
40 min
Makes
1

Ingredients

Yeast dough

  • 4 cups500 gall-purpose flourIn German recipes, plain flour means soft wheat flour Type 405 unless stated otherwise. In the US use all-purpose flour; in the UK, plain flour.
  • 4 tbspgranulated sugar
  • ½ cubefresh yeast½ cube = 21 g. German recipes use either a 42 g cube of fresh yeast or a 7 g packet of dry yeast; one cube equals about two packets. In the US use active dry or instant yeast: one ¼ oz (7 g) envelope replaces half a cube of fresh yeast. In the UK use fast action dried yeast (a 7 g sachet per half cube), or fresh yeast from a supermarket bakery counter.
  • 1 cup250 mlmilk
  • 3 ½ tbsp50 gunsalted butterSoftened. German butter is unsalted and has about 82 percent fat. In the US use unsalted butter (European-style unsalted butter is closest); in the UK, unsalted butter.
  • 1large egg
  • 1 pinchsalt
  • ½ cup80 graisinsOptional

Method

Yeast dough

  1. Make a well in the flour, crumble the yeast into it and cover it with some of the sugar & milk. Let it stand for 10 minutes.

  2. Add the remaining ingredients except the raisins. Knead for about 10 minutes, adding the raisins just before the end.

  3. Cover the dough and let it rise for at least one hour, or until it has doubled in volume.

  4. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) convection (fan).

  5. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, dust with flour as needed and shape it however you like.

  6. My grandma braided a classic three-strand braid and placed it in a loaf pan greased with a little butter.

  7. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, until everything is golden brown.

From German Pastry Chef. Full recipe with photos: germanpastrychef.com/recipes/hefezopf-german-sweet-braided-bread/