Plaited Easter Bread
A fluffy, festive bread that is not at all dry!
- 500 g Flour (I used a mix of spelt and wheat but just because I had not realised that I was running out of flour!)
- about 45g fresh yeast
- 200 ml milk
- 75 g sugar
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
- 125 g butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg white
- raisins to taste
For a savoury variety:
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 2 tablespoons dried and chopped chives
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon milk
- flaked almonds
- 'hail' sugar (looks like very coarse sugar but is very delicate and soft)
Gently warm milk. In a large bowl, combine a bit of the sugar, the yeast and milk, cover the bowl and let the mixture rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the rest of the ingredients. Add the yeast mixture. Knead until the dough is no longer sticky (you can add a tiny bit of flour if that doesn´t seem to work out). Cover the bowl and let the dough rest in a warm place for an hour.
Knead dough once more, cut in three to six equal portions, form strands and plait. Place on a baking paper-covered baking sheet, cover and let rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
Beat egg yolk and milk together, coat the bread with it. Sprinkle with flaked almonds and sugar to taste.
Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.
If you prefer a savoury variety, reduce the sugar to 50 g, leave out raisins and grated lemon peel. Before plaiting, add poppy seed to one portion of the dough, dried chives to another. This will look very pretty and tastes great with egg or cold ham for a savoury Easter breakfast.