Easy & Beautiful Braided Swiss Bread Recipe

Zopf is probably the most famous Swiss bread and for very good reason – it’s lovely soft texture and rich flavor make for something no one can forget.

This easy recipe comes together without much fuss and the most common of ingredients so that you can whip up delicious bread at home whenever the urge hits.

Whether you’re looking for something for brunch on Sunday mornings or to eat with soup this Swiss egg bread is an ideal choice!

Similar to Challah

Experienced bread bakers and eaters, for that matter, might see that Zopf is similar to Challah. Both are braided and contain egg but there are a few other differences.

Challah bread is often made with oil instead of butter. Challah also tends to be a very sweet bread. Zopf is barely sweetened at all – just a Tablespoon sugar mostly to give the yeast something to feed on – not to make the bread itself sweet.

Flour Choices

The recipe was tested with bread flour but an unbleached all-purpose flour would work just as well.

If you wanted to substitute some whole grain for the white flour, you could but the texture will be different. Also know that whole grain flours absorb water differently, so add slowly and mix to see exactly how much is necessary.

Difficulty Level – Intermediate

This is a fairly basic bread recipe making it a great recipe to step up from after one has mastered a simple white bread recipe.

The most difficult thing about the recipe is the braiding, which could be skipped, but some practice makes perfect and braiding can be quite fun and intricate once you get the hang of it.

Bread Shape

Zopf is traditionally a braided bread. I opt for a 3-strand braid most of the time but you can braid it anyway that feels most comfortable.

However, there is no reason for you to feel locked into that shape.

You could form them into knots like my challah rolls. You could do basic bread rolls for ease and speed. Check for doneness earlier than the recipe suggests if you go with rolls.

Bake the dough into simple rounds or oblong shapes on baking sheets, if desired.

The bread could also be formed into regular loaves and baked into bread pans.

How to Serve

No reason to overthink this, serve like you would any good bread. It’s great sliced and served with butter or jam alongside coffee or tea for breakfast.

It can easily be sliced and used for sandwiches or dipped into soups.

How to Store

Put any leftover bread in an airtight container, where it should stay fresh for up to 5 days at room temperature.

For longer term storage, wrap loaves or slices in plastic wrap or place into freezer bags and freeze.

Let frozen bread thaw on the counter prior to serving. Use up frozen bread within 6 months for best flavor.