HEFEKRANZ (YEAST WREATH)

Hefekranz (Yeast Wreath) image

This recipe is from the King Arthur Flour website, one of my all time favorites. I've changed it a bit to make it more authentically German. It is a traditional Christmas bread.

Provided by pammyowl

Categories Grains

Time 4h15m

Yield 1 loaf

Number Of Ingredients 11

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Ingredients

2 eggs
2 cups milk, scalded, then cooled (should amount to a total of two cups when cooled)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
5 -6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, zest of
1/2-1 cup golden raisin
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
sliced almonds

Steps:

Break the eggs into a 2 cup measuring cup. Add cooled milk to equal 2 cups liquid. Beat in the sugar, yeast and 3 cups of the flour. Let rest for 20 minutes.
Stir in the salt, butter, lemon zest, raisins and 2 cups flour. Stir until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out of the bowl and knead,using the last cup of flour if needed, to make a smooth , elastic dough. (You can do the whole process in a stand mixer, too!) . Halfway through, let the dough rest while you lightly oil a bowl. Bread dough loves a short rest! Return, knead again until you have a smooth elastic dough. Place in the bowl let rise until doubled, punch down, let rise again. Dough is ready when you poke your finger in and indent remains.
Turn it out onto a table divide into 3 equal pieces (I use a scale). Roll into ropes an inch in diameter, letting the dough relax if you need to, to relax the gluten. Braid and form a wreath, tucking the ends into each other as best you can. Place on a greased baking sheet cover with a damp cloth or lightly greased cling film let rise for 45 minutes. Glaze with the egg wash and sprinkle the almonds over top a generous amount. Put in a cold oven turn oven to 400 degrees for 15 minutes, turn oven down to 350 and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes. Remove, cool and serve or store until you are ready for this wonderful bread.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 4083.9, Fat 131.7, SaturatedFat 75.3, Cholesterol 870.4, Sodium 3617, Carbohydrate 618.8, Fiber 24.6, Sugar 96.6, Protein 108.3