Step-by-step method

At a glance

You're making a fragrant, buttery Christmas braid that's enriched with fresh eggs, lemon, and vanilla — this one takes patience since you're letting the dough rise for two hours total, then braiding and rising again. The trickiest part is keeping your hands from getting tangled while braiding, but the reward is a beautiful golden loaf that you'll bake at high heat first, then lower the temperature to let it bake through gently.

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Option: bread maker

Put all the ingredients, except the almonds, nuts and raisins, into the bread maker in the order listed. Warm the milk slightly beforehand, and you can add the butter to it cut into small pieces. Fine cane sugar also works wonderfully.

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250 gram
Fresh Whole Milk (3.5% Fat)

125 gram
Unsalted Butter

100 gram
Powdered Sugar

2 piece
Chicken Eggs

250 gram
All-purpose wheat flour

400 gram
Medium-Fine Wheat Flour

2 gram
Salt

20 gram
Fresh Yeast
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Choose the setting

Select the dough programme and let the machine mix and rise the dough for you. Or use a stand mixer – I go for the dough setting on my Thermomix.
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Option: mixing by hand

If using fresh yeast, first make a starter with lukewarm milk and a little sugar, crumble in the yeast, and wait until bubbles start forming on the surface. Dough mixed by hand should be left to rise for at least an hour.

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Braiding

Now it's time to braid. Shape the braid however you're used to, or however you manage without tangling yourself up in it! I braid mine straight onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the braided dough with a tea towel and let it rise in a warm spot for another hour.

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20 gram
Sultana raisins
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Prick with a skewer and brush with egg

After the second hour of rising, you can prick the braid with wooden skewers, just to be safe – it costs nothing and helps the braid hold its shape beautifully. Some people brush the braid with just egg white, others with yolk, but I use a whole egg. Then I sprinkle it with flaked almonds and pop it into the oven.

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1 piece
Chicken Eggs

40 gram
Sliced Almonds
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Baking

Preheat the oven to full heat – for me that's 240°C. Bake at this high temperature for 5 minutes, then lower it to 170–180°C. Continue baking at this temperature for another half hour. If the top looks like it's browning too much, simply cover it with foil.
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Skewer test and serving

You'll know the right moment to take the braid out of the oven by doing a skewer test – it should come out clean, with no dough sticking to it. And what should you serve with your Christmas braid? Warm, sweet hot cocoa.

Mom's Christmas Braid

Name: Cozy Homemade Christmas Braid
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 285 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Czech
Ingredients: 125 gram Unsalted Butter; 100 gram Powdered Sugar; 20 gram Sultana raisins; 3 piece Chicken Eggs; 250 gram Fresh Whole Milk (3.5% Fat); 20 gram Fresh Yeast; 250 gram All-purpose wheat flour; 40 gram Sliced Almonds; 400 gram Medium-Fine Wheat Flour; 2 gram Salt

bohynekuchyne

Prep 10 min Cook 35 min

Plus 3 h 50 min of resting (not counted in active time)

10 Ingredients

7 Steps

Hard Difficulty

What's in it?

414 kcal

Calories

76 g

Carbohydrates

19 g

Fats

14 g

Proteins

The nutritional information is an estimate and may vary based on the specific ingredients used.

About this recipe

This homemade Christmas braid is fragrant with honest ingredients – butter, milk and farm-fresh eggs. I add vanilla and both lemon zest and juice for flavour and aroma. On the other hand, because of my fussy kids, I had to leave out the raisins, which is a bit of a shame, but I really don't feel like picking them out afterwards. So today's braid is plain, just the way my children like it. Feel free to add almonds, nuts or raisins (ideally soaked in rum beforehand) – it'll make the braid even more wonderful.

Vegetarian Bread & Rolls Christmas

Step-by-step method

At a glance

Option: bread maker

For this step

Choose the setting

Option: mixing by hand

Braiding

For this step

Prick with a skewer and brush with egg

For this step

Baking

Skewer test and serving

Mom's Christmas Braid

Ingredients — what you'll need

What's in it?

About this recipe

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