Braided Loaf

[carnivore]

Braided Loaf

• 1 pkg active dry yeast
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 cup warm milk (110 deg. F)
• 4 tbsp butter, melted
• about 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 egg yolk beaten w/1 tsp milk, for glazing

--combine the yeast, honey, milk, and butter, stir, and let sit for 15 minutes. combine with 2 1/2 cups of the flour, salt, & egg in a mixing bowl. mix together. knead, slowly adding more flour until the dough doesn't stick to your hands too much. place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours. punch down dough and separate into 3 pieces. roll the pieces into long cylindrical strips. braid on a lightly oiled baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 30 more minutes. brush with the egg glaze, and bake at 375 for 25-45 minutes (the book said 45 minutes, i probably only did about 25 or 30). let cool.

[oldcoot]

I gave it a shot, Carnivore - here is my result:



Followed your recipe to the letter, except let the second rising go for 1 - 1/2 hours. I've been intending to try a longer 2nd rise to improve the texture - and Voila! Holes - it did! See:



Thanks for the help - I "kneaded" it!

Old Coot

[carnivore]

looks great oldcoot! i'm glad you had good results too. no problem with the help--it's the yeast i could do :D

[BubbaGourmet]

Are all those flour-y phrases necessary?

[carnivore]

sorry, BubbaG--i guess we're all just bread to be comedians.

oldcoot--i'm going to try the extended second rise idea--i want holes in my bread like that!

[oldcoot]

Now that I've gotten this far, I'm going to get really brave and try a shot at that ciabatta the "Elf praised so highly a long time back. Stay tuned.

[maws]

Regarding Oldcoot and his ciabatta. Could somebody please tell me exactly what the secrets are of a good crust and holey texture? I know the dough should be very slack and olive oil added, but are there any further recommendations?

Maws

[Dove]

Carnivore
Is that plain flour or bread flour??
Dove

[carnivore]

hey Dove,
i used bleached all-purpose flour.

[oldcoot]

Maws, last night BW came to me demanding a quick loaf of french to go with the Jambalaya she was preparing. I had 2 hours!

So I dumped 2 cups of AP flour, a tsp of salt , a pkg of Rapid Rise yeast, and 9 oz water into the Kitchen Aid. Rolled the result into a long, slim very soft dough cylinder, and let it rise about 1 1/2 hours. Then Baked it at 375F for 1/2 hour, spraying it twice with water. Perfect timing!

Result: hard criisp crust, pretty good texture with lot of those nice holes! And surprisingly goood flavor! A long rising seems to be the secret to holes.

(Then at dinner I tried a drizzle of olive oil and freshly ground black pepper, like you follks recommended - yuck! But it sure was good dipped into the jambalaya! :D )