ZOPF

For starters, I am going to record this recipe the way it was given to me by my mom and dad. Then later, I will convert the recipe to cups etc.

To make two loaves, make a double recipe

Preheat oven to 350

500 gr. white flour
35 grams granulated white sugar
2 1/4 tsp yeast
80 grams salted buttter
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 deciliter milk = 5.072 ounces
2 eggs

Pour dry yeast into 1/4 cup warm water with a pinch of sugar and mix well. Let it sit for a few minutes. Put flour in mixer with sugar and salt....make a "bowl"...a bowl sized indent in the middle of the flour. As the yeast mixtures starts to bubble, put it into the mixer bowl in the "bowl" you have formed in the flour. Then heat the milk just warm enough to melt the butter you add to the milk. Add the milk mixture and egg to the dough and mix with the dough hook on the mixer 6-8 minutes until it is nice a smooth and does not stick to the bowl.

Turn the dough into a slightly buttered bowl and let rise about an hour until doubled. Then braid the board. Can do a three or four strand braid (look online for instructions). Let the braid rest on your cookie sheet for about 30 minutes. Paint with a mixutre of egg yolk and a bit of sugar and then bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Here is a link to a video about how to make a 6 strand bread.  I think these are really pretty but you can experiment and look up videos for 4 or 5 strands also.  

another braiding site for different numbers of strands -