Hefezopf - Braided sweet bread (zopf bread/striezel)

This Hefezopf bread is a delicious way to start your day. The German sweet braided bread is easy to make. You might know it as an easter dish and sometimes known as Osterzopf (easter braid). But in Germany we eat it throughout the year. This will make a sweet, light and fluffy sweet yeast bread that children will love as much as adults.

What is a Hefezopf? 

A Hefezopf is a braided sweet bread, common in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic. The dough is made from sugar, flour, butter and eggs and yeast. The name is put together from two German words: “hefe” means yeast and “zopf” means braid. 

In Bavaria and Austria, this bread is called “Striezel”. In Switzerland, it is often referred to as “Zopfbrot” (braided bread).

Regional customs for this German braided sweet bread. 

Hefezopf is often baked for special occasions like New Year, Easter or Baptisms but nowadays it is often eaten for a yummy breakfast treat. 

The German braided bread often has religious significance. When braided with three strands the strands are supposed to represent the holy trinity.

In some parts of Austria and Bavaria a loaf of sweet braided bread is gifted to celebrate “All Souls Day.” This custom originates from an old mourning tradition, in which a person would cut off braided hair to express grief. [source: Wikipedia: Allerheiligenstriezel]

The hefezopf is best known as a Traditional Easter Bread. (Read more about this on my German Easter Bread Post) At Easter, the Hefezopf is referred to as “Osterzopf”.

The braided bread is often given as a good luck present on New Years Day.  Some families in Germany start their new year with this bread. In the Rhine area, the hefezopf is formed as a pretzel and is eaten on new year's day. 

In Bohemia, the Hefezopf is a Christmas bread and called Vánočka. It is traditionally eaten during Advent. [source Wikipedia.de Hefezopf]

Recipe for Hefezopf

• 1 egg (medium size) 
• 7 g  instant yeast (1 packet or 2 tsp) 
• 250 ml / 8.5 fl oz milk (3.5 % fat and lukewarm) 
• 500 g / 17.6 oz flour (Germany type 550, UK bread flour, US all purpose flour) 
• 60 g / 2.1 oz sugar 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 80 g  / 2.8 oz butter (softened at room temperature) 
• 3 tbsp almond slices 

1. Whisk the egg and in a small bowl. Remove 1 tbsp of the egg mixture and set aside in a separate bowl. 
2. Add the yeast to the lukewarm milk. Leave for the yeast to activate (approx. 10 min). You should see some small bubbles forming on the surface. 
3. Now mix together the remaining egg, yeast-milk mixture, flour, butter,  sugar and salt. Knead with a dough hook, using a hand or stand mixer for 5 minutes. Leave the dough to rest for further 5 minutes. Then knead the dough again for another 5 minutes. (The total kneading time should be 10 minutes in total). 
4. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave to rest for at least 1 hour. Temperature
5. After this time the dough should have roughly doubled in size. Remove from the bowl and knead on a floured surface (or a non-stick baking mat) for about 5 minutes by hand. 
6. Divide the dough into three balls. Weigh the balls to make sure they are equal in size. (mine were about 60 g/ 2.1 oz each). 

7. Now form them into 3 rolls of equal length.  They should be around 40 cm/16 inch long. 
8. Form the rolls into a braid and place the bread on an oven tray lined with baking parchment. 
9. Cover the braid with a tea towel and leave the rise for a further 45 minutes. 
10. Preheat the oven to 180°C or 356°F. 
11. Using a pastry brush cover the Hefezopf with the remaining whisked egg. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. 
12. Leave to cool before serving.

How to braid bread?

Can I prepare this braided sweet bread in advance?

Hefezopf tastes best when served fresh out of the oven. However, the most important step in this recipe is to give the dough enough time to rest. You can also leave the dough to rise in the fridge overnight. Just make sure that you place the dough in a container that gives the dough enough space to expand. 

Alternatively, you can bake in the evening before. Place it in a plastic bag, store it at room temperature and serve with some butter and jam. You will find it tastes yummy up to three days after it is baked. 

How to serve Hefezopf?

I like eating this sweet yeast bread – just as it is fresh out of the oven. The next day I prefer to eat it with some jam, chocolate spread or butter.

More German Easter Recipes

• German Easter Bread
• Easter Lamb Cake Recipe
• Frankfurter Grüne Soße

This post was linked up to the #cookblogshare link up week 12.