Plait (bread)
A pigtail (bern German Züpfe (f), high German Butterzopf , Austrian also Striezel or Strietzel , fr . Braid , it . Treccia ) is a typical Swiss , Austrian or South German braided crumpet. In contrast to the yeast plait , it is not sweetened and contains neither raisins nor almonds.
Braid is made from yeast dough . It contains butter and milk and is still edible after several days. Before baking, the braid is smeared with egg yolk .
Traditionally, the braid is braided from two strands of dough taken twice (four strands), which gives it a higher shape.
Normal white flour can be used as flour . The special plait flour available in Switzerland contains a proportion of spelled flour , which improves the structure of the dough. It can also contain ascorbic acid , additional gluten and malt flour .
The crumb of the braid should have a fibrous structure. This is achieved by using a flour with a high gluten content and pulling the braided strands, possibly pulling them several times and folding them again.
The braid is traditionally eaten on Sunday with butter and honey or jam for breakfast.