Easter without yeast bakes is hard to imagine – they are part of our traditional Easter breakfast. Something like this delicious Poppy Seed & Marzipan Braided Loaf has to be baked on Sunday morning while the Easter bunny is waiting in the garden… although something delicious like this can be baked all year round, right? If baking with yeast weren’t that time-consuming, we would do it every day.
In our family, we always had a delicious braided loaf aka. German Hefezopf for the long Easter weekend. Not always homemade, I must admit, because we had good connections to a bakery that offered excellent braided loaves. No need to make life unnecessarily difficult, right?! Here in Berlin, however, we unfortunately don’t have a bakery nearby that can bake a decent braided loaf… So we always have to do it ourselves these days – whether we like it or not.
With a little time, though, a braided loaf like this is no problem at all. The waiting time the yeast needs to activate is basically the only “issue” with these kinds of bakes. The rest is simple and straightforward. Once everything’s in the food processor, you don’t even have to exert yourself much. Things were very different when Grandma was baking in the good old days – she used to work yeast dough by hand. Fortunately, those days are over…
We already got quite a few recipes for braided yeast bread and similar bakes here on the blog. Some are plain and simple, and some are a bit more elaborate. But that didn’t stop me from posting another new recipe – this time for the “Bake Together” with my dear fellow blogger Andrea from cinnamon cookies & apple tart. Once a month, we choose a theme/topic and then we bake “together”. Even though the name “Bake Together” implies that we do it together, maybe even in the same kitchen, we unfortunately live too far apart for a joint baking session.
Since Easter is practically around the corner this year, we’ve decided on »Hefezopf or Hefekranz« as our topic this month. This explains this delicious Poppy Seed & Marzipan Braided Loaf, I’d say. We already have a Poppy Seed Braided Loaf and Mohnstriezel aka. Braided Loaf with Poppy Seeds & Sprinkles. Both are similar to this bake here, but still worth trying some other day, right?
As already mentioned, working with yeast is really easy. You quickly knead together a simple yeast dough, let it rise for a suitable amount of time in a warm place, and shortly after that you have the basis for a delicious, fluffy braided loaf. It’s really not rocket science. Whether you opt for a marzipan and poppy seed filling or go in an entirely different direction is up to you. We really like poppy seeds as a filling because it tastes delicious and it’s also super quick to prepare.
If you’re not entirely convinced by marzipan in the filling, you could also choose chopped white chocolate as an alternative. It also goes perfectly with the poppy seeds and yeast dough. We spread the filling a bit thicker on this particular loaf here – something we probably wouldn’t do again next time. We prefer it when the poppy seed filling is more evenly distributed throughout the loaf. If you roll out the dough larger and spread the filling thinner, more layers form when you roll up the dough, and the filling ends up everywhere instead of just here and there. You can see this quite well in our Poppy Seed Braided Loaf.
Anyway, you can, of course, do much more with yeast than just bake braided loaves. If you’d like to stick with the poppy seed theme, you should definitely try our Poppy Seed Rolls aka. German poppy snails. They taste just as good as (if not better than) the ones from the bakery. We love them!
If you prefer something classic, you could also try our German Easter Bread. There’s nothing special in it, just a delicious, light, and fluffy yeast dough, baked in the shape of a braided Easter bread. The perfect base for sweet toppings or simply some butter…
INGREDIENTS / INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS / PREPARATION
1. For the filling, add milk, sugar, poppy seeds, semolina and the lemon zest to a saucepan. Heat the mixture while stirring constantly (or it will burn). The mixture will thicken after a while. Remove from the heat and add the grated marzipan, vanilla extract and rum (optional). Incorporate well and then set aside to cool down.
2. In a bowl mix milk with yeast and a teaspoon of the sugar until well combined. Let rest and rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.
3. Sift the flour on your working surface and make a big well in the middle. Add the yeast milk, remaining sugar, butter, egg, salt and lemon zest and mix everything with the flour. Knead for about 10 minutes until you get a nice smooth dough. Place in a bowl and cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Roll out the dough in the shape of a rectangle on a floured surface. The long side should be about as long as your baking sheet is wide. Spread the poppy seed mixture on top (if it is too thick, add some milk to soften it). Form a roll, starting from the longer side of the rectangle. Place it on a baking sheet prepared with baking parchment. Cut the roll lengthwise into two strings with a sharp knife. Braid the two strings, don’t worry if the filling can be seen, that’s fine.
5. Mix the egg with milk, brush the loaf with it and then bake it for about 30-35 minutes. Take the braided loaf out of the oven and let it cool down completely on a wire rack.
Note: Marzipan for baking is normally a bit soft. Place it in the freezer for about 30 minutes and it is much easier to grate.
1. For the filling, put milk, sugar, poppy seeds, semolina and grated lemon peel in a pot. Heat while stirring constantly (caution: it burns quickly). The mixture will thicken after a few minutes. Remove from the heat and add the grated marzipan, vanilla extract and rum (optional) and stir in. Set aside and let cool.
2. In a bowl, mix the milk with the yeast and a teaspoon of the sugar. Let rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes.
3. Sift the flour onto the work surface and form a large well in the middle. Pour in the yeast milk and add the remaining sugar, softened butter, egg, salt and lemon peel and mix everything together. Knead the ingredients into a smooth dough for about 10 minutes. Place in a large bowl, cover and Let rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) top/bottom heat. Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a large rectangle. The long side should be about as wide as a baking tray. Spread the poppy seed mixture over the entire surface (if it has thickened too much, add a little more milk to make it easier to work with). Roll up from the longer side and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Cut the roll of dough lengthwise with a sharp knife and intertwine the two resulting strands together. The poppy seed mass can still be seen.
5. Whisk the egg and milk together and brush the braid with it and then Bake for about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
A notice: Marzipan raw material is usually a bit soft – if you put it in the freezer for about 30 minutes, it can then be grated a little easier with a grater.
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
Description
A breakfast or brunch on the weekend is only perfect with some sweet bread or brioche. Our Poppy Seed Marzipan Braided Loaf (Hefezopf) is a classic here in Germany for that!
1. For the filling, add milk, sugar, poppy seeds, semolina and the lemon zest to a saucepan. Heat the mixture while stirring constantly (or it will burn). The mixture will thicken after a while. Remove from the heat and add the grated marzipan, vanilla extract and rum (optional). Incorporate well and then set aside to cool down.
2. In a bowl mix milk with yeast and a teaspoon of the sugar until well combined. Let rest and rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.
3. Sift the flour on your working surface and make a big well in the middle. Add the yeast milk, remaining sugar, butter, egg, salt and lemon zest and mix everything with the flour. Knead for about 10 minutes until you get a nice smooth dough. Place in a bowl and cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Roll out the dough in the shape of a rectangle on a floured surface. The long side should be about as long as your baking sheet is wide. Spread the poppy seed mixture on top (if it is too thick, add some milk to soften it). Form a roll, starting from the longer side of the rectangle. Place it on a baking sheet prepared with baking parchment. Cut the roll lengthwise into two strings with a sharp knife. Braid the two strings, don’t worry if the filling can be seen, that’s fine.
5. Mix the egg with milk, brush the loaf with it and then bake it for about 30-35 minutes. Take the braided loaf out of the oven and let it cool down completely on a wire rack.
Notes
Marzipan for baking is normally a bit soft. Place it in the freezer for about 30 minutes and it is much easier to grate.
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