Despite all the delicious international cake and pastry novelties out there, such as American apple pie, Mexican paletas, or Italian sfogliatelle, sometimes it’s hard to beat a good ol’ German hefezopf – literally a “yeast braid.” But you should never underestimate the sweet bread, because as the following two recipes will show, it’s the treat for all seasons.
Braided Sweet Bread with Poppy Seed & Hazelnut Fillings
Equipment
- Baking Sheet
- Saucepan
Ingredients
- 700 g flour
- 125 g sugar
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 pinch salt
- 100 g soft butter
- 2 eggs
- 300 ml warm milk
- flour for the work surface
- 100 ml cream
- 60 g sugar
- 125 g chopped hazelnuts
- egg yolk for egg wash
- 125 g blue poppy seed
- 60 g sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 175 ml milk
Instructions
- Mix all the dough ingredients together and knead well with your hands. Cover the dough and let it sit in a warm place for 1 hour. Then knead the dough again, divide it in half, roll out one half on a floured work surface, and cut it into a square.
- Add the sugar to the cream and stir over medium heat while the mixtures come to a boil. Add the chopped hazelnuts and stir into the sweet cream. Coat the first dough half with the hazelnut filling, leaving a ⅓ inch margin around the entire thing. Roll up the dough, slice it as shown in the video for a decorative design, and brush with the egg yolk.
- Bake at 320°F for 25 minutes on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan.
- Knead the second portion of dough once again, roll it out on the work surface, and cut it into a square. Add the poppy seed filling ingredients to a saucepan and let simmer.
- Coat the dough with the poppy seed filling, leaving a ⅓ inch margin around the entire thing. Roll up the dough, slice it as shown in the video for a decorative design, and brush with the egg yolk. Bake at 320°F for 25 minutes on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan.
VIDEO
If you make both variations, you won’t have to go through the agony of deciding which one to eat, because you can have them both!
You can find the recipe for the Blueberry Danish Roll featured in the bonus video here.