Butter Plait (Zopf) with Poppy Seed

Melt the butter (do not let it get too hot) and then remove the pan from the heat.

Add the cold milk and a pinch of sugar.
Weigh the yeast and dissolve it in the butter-milk mixture (this has just the right temperature).

Put the flour and salt in a bowl, add an egg and the butter-milk-yeast mixture and mix everything well.

Knead everything into a smooth dough.

Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it double for about 1.5 hours.

Quarter the dough and roll out four strands. Cover the strands with plastic wrap and let it rest for 5 minutes. Now lay the strands diagonally on the table and braid them into a plait.

Form roses with dough remnants and garnish the plaits with them. Fasten the roses with egg yolk.

Dilute the egg yolk with a few drops of water and beat well.

Brush the two plaits with egg yolk and let them rest in a cool place for about 30 – 60 min. Sprinkle with poppy seed.

Preheat the oven  to 180 ° C convection oven or 200 ° C upper and lower heat. Brush the braids a second time with egg yolk and bake in the lower part of the oven at 180°C for 50-60 minutes.

Ready to serve, enjoy!