Swiss butter plait (Zopf)
Contains egg (no meat or fish)
Zopf
Switzerland's Sunday-morning loaf: a glossy, golden plaited bread enriched with milk and butter but barely sweet, with a soft, cottony crumb.
Swiss butter plait (Zopf) is a Swiss bread from Switzerland, ready in about 3 hours 55 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, milk and unsalted butter. It serves 12 and is rated intermediate to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Rest
- 2 h 45 min
- Total
- 3 h 55 min
- Serves
- 12
- Level
- Intermediate
- Calories
- 212
Method
Step 1
Mix the flour, yeast, salt and sugar (opens in a new tab). Add the milk (opens in a new tab) and butter and knead 10 minutes (7 in a mixer) until smooth, supple and elastic, passing the windowpane test.
- 12 min
- Mixing bowl (opens in a new tab)
- Stand mixer (opens in a new tab)
- Kitchen scale (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 2
Cover and rise 1½ hours at cool room temperature until doubled.
Step 3
Divide into 2 equal pieces and roll each into a 60 cm rope, thicker in the middle. Plait with the classic Swiss two-strand braid: lay the ropes in a cross, then repeatedly fold the ends over each other, alternating directions, until you reach the end. Tuck the ends under.
- 10 min
A simple three-strand plait works just as well.
Step 4
Place on a lined tray, brush with the yolk beaten with milk (opens in a new tab) and proof 45 minutes until puffy and a poke springs back slowly. Chill for 10 minutes and brush again for a deep shine. Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 200 °C (fan 180 °C).
Step 5
Bake 10 minutes, then lower to 180 °C (fan 160 °C) for 25–30 minutes until a rich mahogany brown; the centre should read 90–93 °C.
- 40 min
- 180°C · fan 160 °C after 10 minutes at 200 °C
- Oven (opens in a new tab)
- Food thermometer (opens in a new tab)
About this dish
- Origin
- Switzerland · Well documentedAlso popular in Austria, GermanyMore food from Switzerland
- Dish
- Breakfast · Brunch · Breads & flatbreads
- Cooking method
- Oven-baked, Fermented
- Taste
- buttery, mild, sweet
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free - Good for
- Festive & celebration · Make-ahead
- Cook more with
- All-purpose flour · Milk · Unsalted butter · Instant yeast · Sugar · Egg yolk
- Techniques
- Baking · Kneading · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains: Milkfrom milk, unsalted butter
- Contains: Eggsfrom egg yolk
- Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
- Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
212 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 68 g · recipe makes 12
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 11%
- Carbohydrate 64%
- Fat 25%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 212 kcal | 310 kcal |
| Protein | 5.7 g | 8.3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 33.7 g | 49.4 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 32.5 g | 47.5 g |
| Sugars | 1.8 g | 2.7 g |
| Added sugars | 0.3 g | 0.5 g |
| Fibre | 1.3 g | 1.9 g |
| Fat | 5.8 g | 8.4 g |
| Saturated fat | 3.2 g | 4.7 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 29 mg | 42 mg |
| Sodium | 337 mg | 493 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.8 g | 1.2 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 89 mg
- Calcium
- 40 mg
- Iron
- 2 mg
- Magnesium
- 12 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 52 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.4 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 138 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Cover loosely with foil if the plait browns too quickly.
Common mistakes
- Proofing too warm — the plait loses definition.
Serve with
- With butter, jam and honey, or ham and cheese for Sunday brunch.
Storage
- Keeps 2 days wrapped; freeze slices.
Reheating
- Toast slices or warm briefly.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- All-purpose flour500 g
- Milk300 ml · 309 g
- Unsalted butter, softened60 g
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 30 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 1 h 30 min
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Final proof · about 55 min
Poke test: the dent springs back slowly and only partly. Springs back fast = needs longer; doesn't spring back = over-proofed, bake now.
Bake · about 40 min at 200 °C
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
Cool · about 30 min
Cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting; cutting hot bread makes it gummy.
- Start to finish: about 4 h 5 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | Flour | 500 g | 100% |
| Milk | Other liquid | 309 g | 61.8% |
| Unsalted butter | Fat | 60 g | 12% |
| Salt | Salt | 10 g | 2% |
| Instant yeast | Yeast | 7 g | 1.4% |
| Sugar | Sugar | 4 g | 0.8% |
- Total flour
- 500 g
- Hydration
- —
- With milk, eggs…
- 53.8%
- Wholegrain
- 0%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.
- Salt 2% — normal for bread.
- Fat 12% — a rich, tender dough.
If something goes wrong
Dense, heavy loaf
Likely causes
- Under-kneaded (weak gluten)
- Under-proofed
- Old or dead yeast/starter
- Too much wholegrain flour without extra water
What to do
- Knead to the windowpane stage
- Proof by the poke test, not the clock
- Test yeast in warm water with sugar; feed the starter and use it at its peak
- Add 5–10% more water for wholegrain flours and give them a rest
Gummy or wet crumb
Likely causes
- Under-baked
- Sliced while hot
- Hydration too high for the flour
What to do
- Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
- Cool completely on a rack before slicing
- Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
Spreads flat / no oven spring
Likely causes
- Over-proofed
- Weak shaping (no surface tension)
- Oven not hot enough
- Too much water for the flour
What to do
- Shorten the proof; bake when the poke springs back slowly
- Shape tightly so the skin is taut
- Preheat fully (30+ minutes; with a stone or Dutch oven, 45)
- Lower hydration or use bread flour
Collapsed or sunken middle
Likely causes
- Oven door opened too early
- Too much leavening or sugar
- Under-baked centre
- Over-proofed yeast dough
What to do
- Don't open the oven for the first two-thirds of baking
- Measure leaveners exactly with spoons, levelled
- Test the centre before removing
- Proof less
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Cracked or domed top
Likely causes
- Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
- Too much leavening
- Overmixed batter
What to do
- Lower the oven 10–15 °C
- Use the exact leavening amount
- Fold just until combined
Big holes or tunnels
Likely causes
- Overmixed batter (cakes, muffins)
- Air trapped while shaping bread
- Uneven proof
What to do
- Mix quick breads only until no dry flour shows
- Degas gently and shape tightly
- Proof covered in an even, warm place
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)
Likely causes
- Too warm
- Too much yeast
- Left too long
What to do
- Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
- Use less yeast or a cooler proof
- Set a timer and check early with the poke test
Dry or crumbly
Likely causes
- Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
- Over-baked
- Too little fat or sugar
What to do
- Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
- Check 5 minutes early
- Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source
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