Make your own yeast plait with dry yeast
You can make a fluffy yeast plait with dry yeast quickly and easily yourself. This yeast plait recipe is particularly practical if you want to bake spontaneously, as you are sure to have the ingredients for the sweet yeast pastry in your store cupboard.
Bake the perfect yeast plait with just 8 ingredients
Would you like to try something special for breakfast? Then make this fluffy and slightly sweet yeast plait with dry yeast! A piece of soft bread with butter or fruity pomegranate and raspberry jelly is guaranteed to sweeten your day.
You can also use this simple recipe for Easter and make an Easter plait. This is particularly popular in Germany and can be found on almost every Easter breakfast buffet.
If you don’t have all the ingredients at home yet, go shopping quickly:
- Whole milk
- Dry yeast
- Wheat flour type 550
- Sugar
- Butter
- Eggs
- Salt
- Hail sugar (optional)
Would you like to make your own vegan yeast plait? Then replace the whole milk and butter with plant-based alternatives and the eggs with, for example, 60 g applesauce, 60 ml plant-based drink or half a mashed banana.
How to bake the best fluffy, soft yeast plait
Are you wondering why I created this recipe with dry yeast? I actually bake a lot with dry yeast because it is simply more practical as it has a much longer shelf life than fresh yeast. That’s why I always have some in the baking cupboard.
Another reason is that I can tell whether the dry yeast is still working or not after just a few minutes when I add it to liquid. If the liquid mixed with dry yeast doesn’t throw any bubbles, I simply feed it with a little sugar and the yeast becomes active again.
Now grab the packet of dry yeast and bake the yeast plait recipe with dry yeast in just a few steps:
- Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk and knead into a dough with the remaining ingredients. Then leave the dough to rest.
- Divide the yeast dough into three pieces, roll into long sausages and braid. Then leave to rest again.
- Brush the yeast plait with egg, sprinkle with caster sugar and bake in the oven until golden brown.
Braiding yeast plaits – it’s so easy!
Are you unsure about braiding? Don’t panic, it’s actually really easy, because here you’ll find a quick guide:
Divide the dough into three pieces and roll them lengthwise so that you have three equally long and thick strands.
- Lay the three strands next to each other with some space between them and knot them at the top.
- Now take the right strand and place it over the middle strand. Then take the left strand and place it over the new middle strand (the previous right strand). Repeat this process until the braid is finished (always place the outer strand, right or left, over the middle strand).
- Press the ends together well and push the knotted ends under the top and bottom of the butter plait so that it has a nice start and finish.
My tip: don’t roll the strands too thin and long. In my case, the plait just about fitted on the baking tray. With slightly thicker and shorter strands, you can also braid it a little tighter than I did.
Yeast plait recipe with dry yeast
Ingredients
- 220 ml Whole milk + 2 tablespoons for spreading
- 7 g Dry yeast
- 500 g Wheat flour type 550
- 60 g Sugar
- 60 g Butter
- 2 Eggs (M)
- 1 Pinch Salt
- 1 Egg yolk (M)
- 2 Tablespoon sugar crystals for sprinkling
Zubereitung
- Heat the milk slightly and dissolve the yeast in it until it starts to bubble.
- Place the flour, sugar, egg, butter and salt in a bowl and knead into a smooth dough using a food processor for approx. 5 minutes. Add the milk and yeast mixture.
- The yeast dough should be slightly sticky, but pull away easily from the sides of the bowl. Shape the dough into a ball, cover and leave to rise at room temperature for 60 minutes.
- Cut the dough into three equal parts.
- Roll each piece of dough into a long sausage and braid into a plait. Twist the ends together, press and place under the plait to create a nice finish.
- Place the yeast plait on a baking tray lined with baking paper and cover with a tea towel. Leave to rise for another 60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C top and bottom heat. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Mix the egg yolk with the milk and brush the yeast plait with it. Sprinkle with caster sugar and bake for approx. 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
Nährwerte
These 4 tips will help you make a successful yeast plait with dry yeast
- Only dissolve the dry yeast in lukewarm milk. At a temperature above 40° C, it cannot develop its full potential and will die.
- Is the yeast milk not bubbling? Then add some sugar to nourish the yeast through fermentation.
- You can also braid the plait with several strands if you are experienced. However, it is easiest with three strands of dough.
- If you don’t like sugar, you can also sprinkle the yeast plait with flaked almonds or chopped nuts. Or simply leave out the topping.
If you liked the simple yeast plait , please leave me a rating for the recipe or write me a comment. You should also try my cinnamon buns with pistachios or the tahini chocolate buns.
You can also follow me on Instagram for even more inspiration about Levante cuisine.
