We made a Dairy Keen Video with Lila Mae Johnson on how to make the famous Swiss Bread. It was so much fun to be able to show this Midway icon to the world, and it was an instant hit. (We have 20,000 hits so far!) In this video, she shows how to make 6 loaves of Swiss Bread, and at the end of the video is a recipe for 3 loaves. The recipe is also available at www.DairyKeen.com, click on recipes and then search Swiss Bread or the direct link to the recipe is www.dairykeen.com/post/swiss-bread-zopf-bread
I have had many people ask for a recipe for a single loaf of Swiss Bread. They have also asked a lot of questions, so see below for those most often asked questions. To Check out the video, go to the Dairy Keen Facebook and then videos and look for Lila Mae.
Makes 1 Loaf 1 Beaten Egg plus 1 teaspoon water 3 Tablespoon Sugar 1 teaspoon Salt 1 Cups Hot Tap Water (125 Degrees) 3 Tablespoons Shortening or Butter, softened 2 Tablespoons of Powdered Milk 2 teaspoons Quick Rise or Instant Yeast 1 1/3 Cups BREAD Flour 1 1/3 Cups additional Bread Flour
Take 1 Tablespoon of the beaten egg and water and set aside. Into a medium mixing bowl dump in the egg, sugar, salt, hot water, shortening, powdered milk, yeast, and first flour. Mix for 3 minutes or until combined.
Add additional flour 1/2 cup at a time. Mix well after each addition. Depending on the type and brand of flour you made need more flour than the recipe calls for. Add enough flour to make a soft dough.
Mix until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and the dough is smooth. Place dough into another bowl that has been coated with about a tablespoons of vegetable oil. Turn the dough so that it is covered on top with the oil. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and let rise until it doubles in size, about 20-30 minutes. Push the dough down to get all the air out. Divide into three equal pieces. Roll into 3 ropes just a bit longer than your bread pan. Braid the three pieces of dough together and tuck ends in and place into grease bread pans. Cover and let rise in a warm spot, until double in size about 20 minutes to ½ hour. Brush the top of the bread with the reserved beaten egg wash. Place into a pre-heated 350 Degree oven. Bake until golden, 35 – 40 minutes. Remove from pan immediately when you remove from oven. Put onto a cooling rack. Try not to cut while hot as it goes doughy, but it is hard to wait.
** Questions we have been asked.
1) If you use Glass Bread pans lower the temperature to 325 degrees. 2) Butter is also awesome instead of shortening. 3) If using regular yeast instead of instant or quick, just add about 10 minutes to each rise 4) Rise until double in size, if your room is cooler or warmer it will change the rise time. 5) Lehi Roller Mills Bread Flour is best to get the best “chew”, but regular bread flour or all-purpose flour will work. But You will probably need to add more flour. 6) To tell when enough flour is added the dough it should not stick to your hands and yet still be soft. Dough should sort of pull back when you pull a piece off. 7) To use milk instead of dry milk, heat 1 cup milk to a simmer and then cool to 125 degrees. 8) Put in the middle rack of your oven. 9) Remove from oven when browned. If your oven bakes hot or cooler the time will be different. 10) Roll the ropes to be about 1 inch longer than the bread pan. 11) Putting the water in first makes mixing a bit easier. 12) Spraying your counter with cooking spray helps to roll the pieces of dough into a rope. 13) If you do not have a thermometer to check the water or milk temperature, just test to the touch. It should feel warm, like a baby bottle. 14) Use a dough hook on your mixer, but if you do not have a dough hook add all but the last ½ cup flour with your regular mixer. Stir in the last ½ cup flour with a spoon. 15) The three loaf recipe fits into my Kitchen-aid mixer. 16) You can bake on a greased cookie sheet instead of a bread pan. 17) The recipe for three loaves is at www.dairykeen.com/post/swiss-bread-zopf-bread 18) Remember it makes awesome French Toast. And do not forget the Raspberry Jam from the Dairy Keen. 19) If you have any questions you can call me, Jan at 801-455-8723. If I cannot answer your questions, I will find out from Lila Mae Johnson. She will always be the “Queen of Swiss Bread.”
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