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.
Jump to:
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) At Easter, the Hefezopf is referred to as “Osterzopf”.
The braided bread is often given as a good luck present on New Year's Day. Some families in Germany start their new year with this bread. In the Rhine area, the hefezopf is formed as a New Year's Pretzel and eaten on the new year.
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 teaspoon salt
- 80 g / 2.8 oz butter (softened at room temperature)
- 3 tablespoon almond slices
- Whisk the egg in a small bowl. Remove 1 tablespoon of the egg mixture and set it aside in a separate bowl.
- 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.
- 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).
- Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave to rest for at least 1 hour. Temperature
- 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.
- Divide the dough into three balls. Weigh the balls to make sure they are equal in size. (mine were about 260 g/ 9 oz each).
- Now form them into 3 rolls of equal length. They should be around 40 cm/16 inches long.
- Form the rolls into a braid and place the bread on an oven tray lined with baking parchment.
- Cover the braid with a tea towel and leave the rise for a further 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 356°F.
- Using a pastry brush (affiliate link) cover the Hefezopf with the remaining whisked egg. Sprinkle the almonds on top. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- 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
More German Bread Recipes
- German Rye Bread
- Chocolate Buns - Schokobrötchen
- Flammkuchen - German Pizza
- German Easter Bread
- Hefezopf - Braided Bread
- Berliner Donut
Recipe
Hefezopf – Braided sweet bread (+video)
Ingredients
- 1 egg medium, at room temperature
- 7 g instant yeast 1 sachet or 2 tsp
- 250 ml milk 8.5 fl oz, lukewarm
- 500 g flour 17.6 oz, (Germany type 550, UK bread flour, US all purpose flour)
- 60 g sugar 2.1 oz
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 80 g butter 2.8 oz
- 3 tablespoon almond slices optional
Instructions
- Whisk the egg and in a small bowl. Remove 1 tablespoon of the egg mixture and set aside in a separate bowl.
- 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.
- 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).
- Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave to rest for at least 1 hour.
- 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.
- Divide the dough into three balls. Weigh the balls to make sure they are equal in size. (mine were about 260 g/ 9 oz each).
- Now form them into 3 rolls of equal length. They should be around 40 cm/16 inch long.
- Form the rolls into a braid (see post for illustration) and place the bread on an oven tray lined with baking parchment.
- Cover the braid with a tea towel and leave the rise for a further 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 356°F.
- 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.
- Leave to cool before serving.
Video
Notes
Prepare in advance.
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.Baking with Yeast: Steps for Sucess
Baking with yeast is not rocket science. Here are my best tips to ensure that your yeast dough rises every time.- Use lukewarm milk. The microorganism in the yeast will activate through heat and sugar. The ideal temperature of the milk should be around 30-35°C / 86-95 °F. If the temperature rises above 45°C/113°F, the cells will die and your dough will not rise.
- Make sure your yeast is in-date. Using out of date yeast is a common reason for the dough not rising.
- 35°C/95 °F is the perfect temperature for the dough to rise. The temperature should not get hotter than 40 °C/104°F. If your kitchen is cooler, then preheat the oven to the lowest setting. Turn the oven off and place the dough in the oven. Cover it with a moist tea towel so it does not dry out. (If your lowest setting is hotter than 40 like mine 50, leave the door open for a couple of minutes before placing the dough in)
- Knead the dough thoroughly - To ensure that the bread becomes light and fluffy you need to knead it for a long time. A well-kneaded dough hardly sticks. After the dough rises it is important to knead it again, as during the rising process gas bubbles form. This will ensure that your bread bakes evenly.
Super sweet bread recipe and so easy to make. So delicious. It’s really wicked because I kept going back to get another slice. It was gone really quickly. Need to make another for Good Friday. Very interesting history notes. Thanks Marita
Hi Malou! Thanks so much for your comment. It makes me so happy when a recipe are enjoyed as intended. I wish you a happy Easter x
I didn’t have a stand mixer and just kneaded for double/triple the time listed on the recipe, the bread turned out absolutely delicious! My husband and I actually polished it off in less than 24 hours
😂 I’m already looking forward to the next time I make this recipe!
Hi Nelson,
Thanks for your kind comments about this recipe. We love it as well and it is super tasty. Best Wishes Marita
THANK YOU FROM SOUTH AFRICA
You are welcome! Best Wishes back to South Africa!
Gorgeous! I remember eating this when I lived in Germany and I love it, such a wonderful soft, buttery crumb. Thanks for linking up to Cook Blog Share Week 12! Karen
I love the little history and meaning behind the Hefezopf. Plus, it looks so beautiful when baked. We might know that Romanians eat bread with everything, but seldom sweet bread (whatever is sweet, we call it cake! haha). I’ll change this tradition with your recipe and have it with jam:)))
This is the easiest bread recipe I’ve ever seen. It’s so simple but delicious 🤤
When I go abroad I love this type of bread, I was just looking for an excellent recipe to try to make it by myself. Yours seems perfect and delicious to me and I love you add step by step braid direction. Thanks for sharing this
Looks awesome! Never tried braiding bread but must give it a go!