Sweet Braided Bread Recipe
Sweet Braided Bread Recipe – All Saints Braid
Sweet Braided Bread (All Saints Braid) is called Allerheiligenzopf in Germany.
Ingredients for Sweet Braided Bread:
- 1 kg (2.2 lbs) of flour, all-purpose
- 2 pouches of dry yeast, rapid rise
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 3 egg yolks, XL
- 500 ml (1.05 pt) of milk, lukewarm
- 160 g (5.6 oz) of butter, melted
- 180 g (6.3 oz) of sugar
- 2 pouches of vanilla sugar OR 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon of lemon peel, grated
- 3 tablespoons of rum
- 150 g (5.2 oz) of raisins
- 1 egg, XL (for brushing the Sweet Braided Bread)
Preparation of Sweet Braided Bread:
To make the dough, place the sifted flour, yeast, sugar, salt, vanilla sugar, and lemon peel in a mixing bowl. Add 3 egg yolks, lukewarm milk, melted butter, and rum. Mix using the kneading hooks of a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer. Add the raisins and work them well into the dough. Use your hands to knead the dough as well. Cover the dough and let it rise for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Create 12 pieces of dough about 76 g (2.7 oz) for the small braids and divide the rest of the dough into 3 equal pieces for the big braid loaf. (Follow braiding instructions below).
Braiding the small loaves:
Take one of your 12 pieces of dough and divide it into two pieces; one piece about 2/3 of the dough and the other 1/3 of the dough. Roll the first 2/3 of dough into a roll about 15 inches long and the second 1/3 of the dough into a roll about 8 inches long. Lay the 15 inches roll in a “U” shape and place the shorter 8 inches roll in the center of the “U” with one end overlapping the center. Start braiding as shown in the pictures below. Fold the ends underneath the braided dough.
How to braid—Step by step:
Braiding the large loaf:
Divide the dough for your big loaf into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into a roll about 21 inches long. Start braiding in the center of the bread. Once one side is finished continue on the other side. Fold the ends underneath the braided dough.
IMPORTANT: When you have finished braiding your dough, the large one and small ones, beat the egg and brush all the tops.
Baking the Sweet Braided Bread:
Preheat the oven to 190-200°C (375-400°F) and place the small Sweet Braided Bread on the middle rack and the large Braided Bread on the rack one above the middle rack. Let the big braid bake for about 25-30 minutes and the small braids about 18-22 minutes. If you want your breads darker add two or three minutes in the oven.
To try the Buchteln Recipe click here, the Bread Man Recipe click here, the Apple Pockets Recipe click here and the Mardi Gras King Cake recipe click here.