Braided bread can be quite nice. This Seed and Poppy Seed Covered Braid is a tasty, festive holiday bread.
Prep Time: 90 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- 5 4/5 cups (700 g) unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (200 g) whole wheat flour
- 2 ounces (50 g) live yeast cake (use baker's yeast)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- An egg yolk, lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons of oil, for brushing the bread with
- A handful of mixed poppy, sesame and fennel seeds
Preparation:
Sift the flours and the salt into a large bowl and scoop a well into the middle of the mound. Crumble the yeast into a small bowl of warm water, add the sugar, and stir the mixture into the well. Add 1 1/3 cups warm water and the oil, and knead the mixture until you obtain a smooth elastic dough. Brush the dough with oil, cover the bowl with a cloth, and let the dough rise until tripled in volume in a warm dry place.
When it is almost ready, preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C).
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide it into three pieces. Shape them into balls, roll the balls into equally-sized thick snakes, and brush them with the yolk-and-oil mixture.
Put a sheet of oven parchment on a baking tin, grease your hands, weave your three snakes of dough into a braid on the tin, and then dust them with the seeds. Let the braid rise in a warm draft-free place for 20 minutes more, and then bake it for about 50 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when gently thumped.
Yield: A loaf of bread.
When it is almost ready, preheat your oven to 360 F (180 C).
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide it into three pieces. Shape them into balls, roll the balls into equally-sized thick snakes, and brush them with the yolk-and-oil mixture.
Put a sheet of oven parchment on a baking tin, grease your hands, weave your three snakes of dough into a braid on the tin, and then dust them with the seeds. Let the braid rise in a warm draft-free place for 20 minutes more, and then bake it for about 50 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when gently thumped.
Yield: A loaf of bread.
