Easter Braid

The braid is a characteristic holiday bread made from milk dough. Since we braid the dough, it must be just the right firmness and properly risen. Easter is incomplete without it—just as it is without ham, horseradish, Easter eggs, potica, and other delicacies.

Details

  • Preparation Time: 120 minutes
  • Cooking Time: 60 minutes
  • Difficulty: 2
  • Spiciness: 0
  • Number of Servings: 12

Ingredients

  • 600 g Flour, Whole wheat

  • 120 g Butter, unsalted

  • 2 dl Milk, whole milk

  • 80 g Sugar, white

  • 4 pieces Egg, fresh

  • 100 g Raisins

  • 50 g Yeast, dry

  • 0.5 teaspoons Salt, table

  • 1 piece Lemon, fresh, without shell

Steps

  1. Prepare the yeast: crumble the yeast into a bowl and add a teaspoon of sugar, two teaspoons of flour, and four tablespoons of lukewarm milk. Wash the lemon and finely grate its zest.

  2. Sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the yeast mixture into the well and sprinkle with a little flour. Blow out the eggs (see advice) as we will need whole eggshells; the contents of three eggs will be needed for the dough, and one will be used to brush the braid. Let the yeast rise for ten minutes, then add softened butter, three eggs, the remaining sugar, the rest of the milk, grated lemon zest, and a pinch of salt to the bowl. Knead all the ingredients into a smooth and pliable dough that should not stick to your hands or the bowl.

  3. Cover the dough and let it rest in a warm place until it doubles in volume (about one hour), then knead it well, shape it into a ball, cover it, and let it rise again (about 20 minutes).

  4. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a baking dish with butter and sprinkle it evenly with flour. Sort the raisins, wash them thoroughly, and drain them.

  5. Quickly knead the raisins into the risen dough. Place the dough on a floured work surface. Divide it into three parts and shape them into rolls, which you then braid into a braid and place in the greased baking dish. Join the ends of the dough to form a wreath. Insert the empty eggshells into the openings of the braid, pushing them slightly into the dough, and brush the braid with beaten egg. Cover and let it rise for another 15 minutes, then bake in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes. Remove the baked braid from the oven and place it on a round serving plate. Let it cool slightly, then replace the empty eggshells with Easter eggs.

Nutrition Information (Per 100g)

  • Calories: 330.6 kcal
  • Fat: 11.14 g
    • Saturated Fat: 5.61 g
  • Carbohydrates: 49.02 g
    • Sugars: 6.42 g
  • Protein: 10.81 g
  • Fiber: 6.42 g

Advice

Blow out the eggs by making small holes at the ends with a thin knitting needle, mixing the contents with a needle, and blowing the contents into a bowl. Instead of sweet, you can prepare a savory braid. Instead of sugar, raisins, and lemon, add 100g of chopped ham and half a teaspoon of salt to the dough. The dough for braiding must be just the right firmness and properly risen. Soft dough will stick together, while hard dough will tear during braiding. The braid beautifully spices up the holiday table. You can create various shapes from it: a circle, oval, heart shape, or flower shape (from several smaller wreaths). You can sprinkle it with almonds. Instead of milk, you can use the same amount of sweet cream. In addition to raisins, you can also add chopped orange or lemon zest to the dough. Before preparing all the ingredients for the yeast dough, keep them at room temperature, so its best to take them out of the refrigerator the evening before preparation. Yeast dough will be easier to succeed if the room where you work is warm and draft-free. The Easter eggs used to decorate the braid should be colored with natural dyes.