Zopf!

Today, I decided I wanted to make some kind of fancy bread.  I had been reading about pulla when I discovered zopf.  After going through a few traditional recipes that called for fresh yeast (hard to find in the USA), I came across this one: http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/zopf-swiss-sunday-bread  Apparently they don't have fresh yeast in Australia either.  This one is also a little different because it doesn't have egg in the dough itself, though that wasn't uncommon in the recipes I was finding.



I had to modify the method a bit because I was using my stand mixer.  I started with everything but the milk and then had to use my paddle-scraper to get everything incorporated.  After that I switched to the hook and got the milk mixed in.  I had to scrape the sides down once because the paddle had pushed everything up.  I let the dough double for 30 minutes.



The easiest part of this was the forming of the braid.  Instead of the Swedish technique, which tends to look like a big knot rather than a true braid, I opted to do a four stranded braid.  I also then let the braid rise for 30 minutes after forming it, which isn't in the original recipe.



As you can see, 30 minutes makes it rise a lot, but see how much more even that braid looks?  I then used an egg wash consisting of a whole egg with a splash of milk (the recipe just uses a yolk) and baked for 30 minutes at 425F.



Beautiful!  Now we just have to taste it.