Traditional Easter plait

Especially popular at Easter

Delicious! We actually eat the classic Germzopf 356 days a year. But especially at Easter, you are guaranteed to find the delicious plait in many different variations and shapes on every Vorarlberg dining table. Whether for breakfast or a cozy afternoon snack - we love Zopf! PS: Don't be afraid of yeast dough. Many people have had bad experiences, but it's actually really easy! Good luck and Happy Easter!

Ingredients:

• 1 kg flour
• 450 g milk
• 15 dag butter
• 15 dag sugar
• 1 dag salt
• 8 dag yeast
• 2 eggs
• lemon zest
• vanilla sugar

Preparation:

Prepare the steam:
Crumble the yeast into a small bowl, mix with 100 g lukewarm milk, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of flour. Cover and leave to stand until doubled in volume.

Prepare the dough:
Place the flour and remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl. Melt the butter and add the remaining milk. When it is no longer too hot, mix in the eggs. Add the egg and butter mixture with the steam to the flour mixture and knead well. Knead the dough until it is smooth and then leave to rest until it has doubled in size. Shape the dough, leave to rise again briefly, brush with egg yolk and bake at approx. 175 °C (depending on whether it is a large plait or a small pastry).

Shaping the dough:
There are many different ways of shaping the dough. The classic is the traditional plait. For this, form 3 strands of the same size and braid them like a plait. But you can also shape it into a yeast plait nest or make little Easter bunnies. If you like to experiment, you can also braid the plait with several strands. There are no limits to your imagination here. Just remember that the dough will still rise.