Easter Bread in Braid Form

The recipe comes from Margarete Abée's cookbook, which was partly written for her from 1906 by hre Marburg grandmother Abée, née Scheffer. In addition to a number of hearty dishes, the cookbook also includes salad recipes, sweet dishes, compotes and jams as well as various pastries. The Easter bread recipe below dates from the early post-war days of World War II, when substitute products such as dried eggs, dried milk and margarine had to be used for baking.

Method:

  1. Sift the flour into a bowl.
  2. Make a well in the flour.
  3. Mix the fresh yeast with some of the lukewarm milk and flour from the edge of the well and leave until bubbles appear.
  4. Gradually stir in the sugar, eggs or egg substitute, sultanas, margarine, lukewarm milk and flavourings with a wooden spoon.
  5. Let the yeast dough rise for 30–45 minutes and then work it through well, i.e. knead. The dough should not be too soft.
  6. Shape into a ball and divide in half.
  7. Make a three or four part braid from one half of the dough.
  8. Form five strips from the second half of the dough.
  9. Braid another braid out of three strips.
  10. Twist the two remaining strands together.
  11. Place the second three-strand braid on top of the braid you braided first, press a groove in the middle at the top and place the two-part braid on top.
  12. Brush the resulting Easter bread with milk.
  13. Bake in an oven preheated to 200 °C on the middle rail for about 40–50 minutes until nicely browned.
  14. After baking, brush with a little fat while still hot and sprinkle with icing sugar.