If somebody asked me one week ago for the perfekt Zopf-recipe, I had recommended this one . But when filing to my copy of “Advanced Bread and Pastry” I saw a recipe for eggbread, that looked very promising. I was tempeted to try to form a 8-braided bread.

And then  Susan of Wild Yeast bake Eggbread for  BBD #19 and her pictures put the recipe on the top of my list. Of course I try the 8-braided variant, but that was a little bit confusing at the end, so the look of the bread was not as nice as I want it to be.

But the crumb, the crust and the taste was perfect! I never had a crumb for a sweet bread that was so soft!

Zopf / Eggbread

1 Zopf a 1,1 kg

Pâte fermente / alter Teig:

• 210 g flour (Typ 550)
• 145 g water
• 1g fresh yeast
• 4g salt

Hauptteig:

• 360 g flour (Typ 550)
• 160 g milk
• 8 g fresh yeast
  
• 7g salt
• der whole pâte fermente
• 75 g egg (this is about 1,5 eggs, beat them lightly before weighing and save the remaining egg for the egg wash)
• 75 g sugar
• 55 g Butter

Topping

• 1/2 egg, lightly beaten
• pearl sugar

Mix all ingredients for the Pâte fermente and proof it for 1 hour at room temperature. Then put the dough into the fridge for 12 hours.

Dissolve the yeast in milk, then knead in the kitchen machine with eggs, salt, flour and Pâte fermente for 5 min at slow speed.

The knead 7 min at middle speed. Because the sugar inhibits the gluten development, the sugar is added just now. Add always a tablespoon at once and knead in between always for 1 min. At last add the butter all at onc and knead untill the butter is completly incooperated.

Proof for one hour.

Divide the dough into 8 strands and braid it. Brush lightly with beated egg and proof for 2 hours.

After proofing brush again with egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar. Bake at 175°C for about 40 min with steam.