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Best Homemade Braided Sweet Bread (Vianočka) with Dry Yeast

There’s something so comforting about homemade braided sweet bread 🤍✨ Soft, fluffy, slightly sweet, and topped with crunchy almond flakes – it’s the kind of bake that makes your whole home smell amazing.
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Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

Dough:
  • 580 g all-purpose flour
  • 250 ml warm semi-skimmed milk
  • 50 g plain yogurt
  • 1 packet dry yeast
  • 70 g granulated sugar
  • 1 packet vanilla sugar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • zest of 1/2 lemon optional
  • 80 g butter room temperature
Topping:
  • 1 egg for brushing
  • sliced almonds
  • powdered sugar optional, for dusting

Method
 

  1. Sift 580 g all-purpose flour into a bowl. Add 250 ml warm semi-skimmed milk, 50 g plain yogurt, 1 packet dry yeast, 70 g granulated sugar with 1 packet vanilla sugar, 2 egg yolks (and optionally zest of 1/2 lemon), and mix for about 5–8 minutes (about 2 minutes in a stand mixer).
  2. Then add 80 g butter (room temperature) in small cubes. Mix for about 10 minutes until a soft and smooth dough forms.
  3. Let the dough rise for about 40 minutes.
  4. Transfer the dough onto a surface and divide it evenly into 6 equal pieces. Shape into balls and let rest for 10 minutes.
  5. Then braid the dough (you can follow a YouTube tutorial or your own video – whichever is easier ☺️).
  6. Place it diagonally on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and let rise for 15 minutes (placing it diagonally helps because the bread will expand during baking).
  7. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
  8. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for about 30 minutes.
  9. Before slicing, you can dust it with powdered sugar.