Austrian Brioche Germzopf Recipes

AUSTRIAN BRIOCHE (GERMZOPF)

Steps:

• Warm milk to medium heat, add sugar and yeast.
• Stir until yeast has dissolved.
• Add lemon cest, if using, and 1 egg to the warm milk/yeast/sugar mixture.
• Sift 500g flour into a bowl and pour in milk mixture, salt and melted butter.
• Knead to a soft and shiny dough using a mixer or kitchen machine/food processor. The longer you knead, the better/fluffier the result.
• Form a ball out of dough and let rest covered with a kitchen towel until its volume has doubled (up to 1 hour guesstimate).
• Separate dough into 3 equal portions, knead again and form long, inch thick rounds.
• Braid/shape the three dough rolls like you would a pig tail.
• Mix the second egg with a dash of salt and 1 tsp sugar.
• Brush surface of dough with this mixture (keep a bit of this mixture for later) and let rest again for 30 minutes.
• Then bake brioche at 180°C for about 30-45 minutes. In case the surface darkens too soon, cover with aluminium foil.
• Take brioche out about 5 minutes before it is done and brush with the rest of the egg glaze.
• Sprinkle with almonds and return brioche (uncovered) to oven.
• Bake until done.