Life is always busy, let's be honest, and sadly, this little blog gets left by the wayside when my life gets busy.
I still cook and bake, I still experiment and try new recipes, and create new recipes, I just don't get around to photographing and posting about it to share with all of you lovely people (all 5 of you who probably read this! Hi mom!😉).
Recently, I hosted a group of ladies at my house for a lesson on making infused butters, and what better vehicle for infused butter is there, than fresh baked bread? I made some of my go-to bread recipes ahead of time, including the recipe that I am bringing you today, along with my Carrot Nut Bread, Rosemary Garlic Crust Loaf, and a wheat bread that I hadn't tried before. During the lesson, the ladies were able to shape their own Buttery Rolls if they wanted to, and then we got to sample the breads with a variety of sweet and savory butters.
My 4 favorite butters were Cinnamon Vanilla, Orange, Strawberry, and Garlic Butter, while others enjoyed the Bacon Chive, Cilantro Lime, and Honey Cinnamon butters. I guess you can say that I like the sweet butters the most, and you wouldn't be wrong!
I actually finished off my sample of Cinnamon Vanilla butter on a piece (or 2) of this Zopf Brot, and it was probably the best decision I will make all day.
Traditional Zopf Brot is a braided bread from Germany, which I had a number of times on my trips to Switzerland back in my single days, however, that isn't where I first encountered the bread. I have eaten this simplified version of Zopf since I was a teenager, when my mother put together a recipe book for our church women's group, she had not one, but two recipes for Zopf submitted by different contributors! What are the odds?!
This bread is not only gorgeous, it is incredibly delicious! Slather some Nutella or butter on a slice, and you are good to go! This recipe makes two large loaves of bread.
Zopf Brot (Braided Bread)
Ingredients:
7-7 1/2 c. flour
2 Tbs yeast
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter
2 2/3 c. milk
1 egg (for brushing)
Directions:
Place the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt into a large bowl (keeping the salt and yeast apart).
In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the milk to the butter, and heat until the mixture is lukewarm to the touch. Add to the dry ingredients, and mix together.
Knead the dough in the bowl until it is very elastic, then cover with a cloth and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
Once the dough has risen, split the dough in half, one for each loaf. Split each half into thirds, and roll each third into long ropes of equal length. Pinch together the ends of the 3 ropes, and braid them together like a traditional braid (right over middle, left over middle, etc...) until you come to the end, then pinch the tail ends under and together.
Place the loaves on baking sheets lined with either silpat mats or parchment paper (depending on the size of your loaves, you may be able to fit them on one pan, or you may need two separate ones). Beat the egg and use a pastry brush to brush the loaves with the beaten egg.
Preheat your oven to 375, and allow your loaves to rise for about 15 minutes while your oven heats up. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the internal temperature is about 190 degrees on a thermometer.
Let cool before slicing, and enjoy!
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