Swiss Zopf Recipe: The Bubble Test Secret to Perfect Bread

Looking for an authentic Swiss Zopf recipe? This golden, braided Sunday bread is a Swiss tradition that fills homes with the smell of butter and fresh-baked goodness every weekend. Moreover, with just 10-15 minutes of hands-on kneading and a foolproof braiding technique, you’ll be making bakery-quality Zopf at home.

My love affair with Zopf began 20+ years ago in a Swiss Kitchen, where I learned the secret to that signature soft interior and glossy crust: the bubble test.

What is Swiss Zopf?

Zopf (pronounced “tsopf”) is Switzerland’s traditional braided Sunday bread – a soft, buttery, loaf with a golden-brown glossy crust. Made with milk, butter and yeast, it appears on Swiss breakfast tables every weekend, served with butter, jam, honey or even topped with a fried egg. The name means “braid” in Swiss German.

Here is my Authentic Swiss Zopf Recipe

Swiss Zopf Recipe

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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 500 g Flour (I use both plain white flour or "zopfmehl" which is a mix of 90% white and 10% spelt depending that I have in the house)
• 1/2 tablespoon of salt
• 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
• 20 g fresh yeast or 7g of dried yeast
• 300 ml milk at room temperature
• 85 g butter cut into small pieces
• For the Egg Wash: 1 egg and a drop or two of water.

Method

 

1. In a small bowl add sugar, 100 ml of milk and the yeast. Mix and set aside in a warm spot until the mixture starts to bubble, about 10 or so minutes. You can skip this part and move straight onto step 2, but this is where I believe the flavour starts to develop.
2. In a separate large mixing bowl mix all of your flour and salt followed by the activated yeast mixture. You can add the rest of the milk (200 ml) here too. Start to mix with a spatular or in your kitchen machine with the dough hook.
3. Now it is time to add your butter. If not using a machine, take it out of the bowl now and start kneading, the dough will be very sticky, and you will question my methods, but keep on kneading. The texture will soon become silky smooth.
4. Keep on kneading. The secret to beautiful airy bread is not to skimp on the kneading. I know it is annoying, but trust me, the longer you knead, the better the texture. Start with 10 minutes before cutting down the middle to see how many bubbles have formed. I usually knead by hand for 15 minutes in total.
5. This is where I should tell you to let your dough rise in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, but honestly, I never do it. I just pop the ball of dough back in the bowl I mixed it in and drape over a damp tea towel. Let the dough sit in a warm place, by a window, a radiator or even in a cold oven with just the light turned on works well, for about 2 hours until doubled in size.
6. It's time to create your Zopf. Divide your dough into two equal portions and roll each into two 50cm long strands.
7. - Lay one strand horizontally and one strand vertically like a + sign.

   - Taking the bottom strand, lift the left end over the top strand to the right. Take the right end of that same strand and bring it over to the left

   - Now take the other strand and cross its ends over in the same way. Alternating until you reach the end.

   - Pinch the ends together and tuck underneath.
8. Place the braided loaf on a baking-paper-lined tray and lightly glaze using the egg wash (1 egg and a few drops of water) and then pop them into a cold oven and turn the oven on to 200 C (fan-forced) and set your timer for approx 35 minutes.
9. As the rich butter smell wafts through your home, you will know the Zopf is ready. But to be sure, at the 35-minute mark check the colouring, mine usually needs 5 minutes longer. The bread should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Do your best to wait at least 30 minutes for the bread to cool before cutting into it.

Notes

• If your home runs cold, use the-cold-oven-with-the-light-on trick I was taught be my brother-in-law's mother.
• Use cold ingredients if using a stand mixture to avoid overheating the yeast
• For Sunday morning baking: prep Saturday and refrigerate overnight
• Best bench height allows comfortably without hunching.

Baking outside Switzerland?

• Flour: Use bread flour. For a closer match to Zopfmehl, mix 450g bread flour with 50g spelt
• Yeast: 20g fresh yeast = 7g (one sachet) instant/dried yeast. 
• Measurements:
  • 500g flour = around 4 cups of flour
  • 300ml milk = around 1 1/4 cups 
  • 85g butter = around 6 tablespoons of butter
• Butter: Use unsalted European-style butter if you can find it. It has a higher fat content which helps soften the bread. Regular unsalted will work too. 

As a result of tasting a lot of different loaves over the years of living in Switzerland, I’ve found that not every Zopf is to my liking. Some bakeries tend to lean towards more butter and a light crust (my favourite in Zug is from von Rotz), while others bake till the crust has a dark tan. Even when travelling – like our family trips to Lugano – I’m always judging the local bakery Zopf. Down in Ticino, I’ve found their Zopf (called Treccia al burro) not buttery enough for my taste. There are even regional differences. Some regions must include an egg, while others wouldn’t dream of adding one in.

So over the past eighteen months, I have experimented with different Zopf recipes, blind tasted Zopf with an egg and without, and experimented with different methods until I came up with this recipe. My recipe has no egg, a lot of butter, and I always check for bubbles after kneading. The most challenging part of making this recipe is the self-control needed to wait thirty minutes before cutting into the freshly baked Zopf.

Tips for Perfect Swiss Zopf Every Time:

• Swiss baking is always in grams – it’s more precise than the cups I grew up with and I’d never go back. This is the kitchen scale brand I’ve used for years and it’s compact enough for smaller Swiss kitchens.
• The key to kneading by hand is finding a bench with the correct height. My kitchen bench is too high for me. Therefore my dining table in our Zug apartment is my Zopf kneading station.
• If you do want a machine to do all the kneading, I use a smaller KitchenAid Artisan kitchen machine for this recipe, or the larger KitchenAid when working with 1kg of flour.
• A dough scraper is so helpful when making bread ad is one of my most-used Swiss Kitchen tools.
• I was once told that if you use a kitchen machine to knead, it is best to work with cold ingredients to avoid heating the yeast. I have yet to try this so if you do, please let me know your results.
• Double this recipe to make two loaves, freezing one for next weekend.

Making This Swiss Sunday Tradition Yours

There is something magical about the smell of fresh Zopf baking on a Sunday morning. Whether you’re continuing a Swiss tradition or starting a new weekend ritual, this golden braided bread will become a favourite. The bubble test might seem fussy, but it’s the secret to that impossible soft interior that makes Zopf so special.

How We Eat Zopf in Switzerland (Serving Suggestions)

The Swiss serve Zopf on the weekend sliced thick and spread with a thick layer of good (unsalted) butter topped with local honey or jam (Konfi). But my children like to have it with Nutella or something they came home from camp with – butter topped with chocolate powder. Us adults prefer Zopf with an egg, either fried or poached, along side cheese, cold-cuts and Bircher Müesli, for a full Sunday brunch. If there are any leftovers (this doesn’t happen often) we turn the day-old Zopf into incredible French toast – or Fötzelschnitten, as it is called here. The buttery Zopf dough soaks up the egg mixture beautifully.

Try baking this recipe this weekend and why not double the recipe to make two loaves. Your future self will thank you when you pull that second loaf out of the freezer.

**Perfect Pairings**

– Swiss Bircher Müseli Recipe

– Swiss Breakfast Guide