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German Easter Bread (Osterbrot)
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5 from 10 votes

Amazing German Easter Bread with Marzipan

A traditional German Easter Treat. This Easter Bread in wreath form is a delicious treat for your easter celebration
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine German
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Servings 12 people
Calories 488kcal
Author Marita

Ingredients

For the yeast dough

  • 500 g plain flour 4 cups, 17.6 oz, (Germany type 405, UK plain flour, US pastry flour)
  • 2 teaspoon instant yeast 1 packet, 7 gr
  • 70 g white sugar ½ cup, 2.4 oz
  • 250 ml milk 1 cup, 8.4 fl oz, lukewarm
  • 1 egg medium size, at room temperature
  • 80 g butter 6 tablespoon, 2.7 oz, at room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoon sliced almonds to decorate (optional)

For the almond marzipan filling

  • 200 g marzipan 7 oz
  • 200 g ground almonds 2 cups, 7 oz
  • 50 g sugar ¼ cup, 1.7 oz
  • 50 g butter 4 tablespoons, 1.7 oz, melted
  • 6 tablespoon milk

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 50°C 122°F (Basically the lowest setting on your oven.) 
  • Break the egg into a small bowl and mix. 
    1 egg
  • In a separate bowl, mix r two tablespoon of the mixed egg with two tablespoons of the lukewarm milk. Leave in the fridge to rest. 
    250 ml milk
  • Add the yeast and sugar to the rest of the lukewarm milk, stir and leave to rest for 10 minutes. The yeast should start to create some bubbles at the surface. 
    2 teaspoon instant yeast, 70 g white sugar
  • Add the flour, butter, salt and remaining egg to a bowl. Pour in the yeast-milk mixture. With a hand-or stand mixer knead the dough for about 10 minutes until you achieve a smooth dough.
    500 g plain flour, 80 g butter, ½ teaspoon salt
  • Place the dough into a bowl and cover with a moist tea towel. Turn off your oven and place the bowl with the dough into the oven. Leave for about 1 hour. The dough should have roughly doubled in size. 
    recipe steps for german easter bread
  • While waiting for the dough to rise, you can prepare the marzipan-almond filling. Melt the butter. Mix in the marzipan, almonds, sugar, melted butter and milk. I like my marzipan quite crumbly so that you bite into bigger bits of marzipan. You can also mix it into a smooth paste if you prefer. 
    200 g marzipan, 200 g ground almonds, 50 g sugar, 50 g butter, 6 tablespoon milk
  • Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a rectangle. Do this on a floured surface, or on a non-stick silicone mat. The size of my rectangle was around 30 x 40 cm (12″ x 16″). 
  • With sprinkle or spread the marzipan-almond paste on the rectangle. Then roll up the dough – along the long edge. The dough roll should be of an even thickness. Place the roll onto the tray lined with baking parchment. 
  • With a sharp knife, cut the dough roll into two. Now wrap the two strings around each other and shape them into a wreath form. Cover and leave to rest for a further 10 minutes. 
  • Preheat the oven to 160°C or 320°F. 
  • Just before placing the easter bread into the oven, apply the milk-egg mixture with a brush. Sprinkle on the slivered almonds. 
    3 tablespoon sliced almonds
  • Bake for about 45 minutes. To check if the bread is done – prick the middle with a skewer. If it comes out clean, the bread is done. 
  • Leave to cool before serving. If you like you can dust the cake with some icing sugar.  Tastes great with butter and jam.

Video

Notes

I would recommend checking out the step-by-step images in the main post. Also watching the video may help. 

Storage Instructions: 

The Bread tastes best the day it is baked, but keeps in an airtight container up to three days. 
 

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 488kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 167mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 339IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 3mg