Braided homemade bread

Ingredients

• 1 kg flour
• 50 g fresh yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 575 ml lukewarm water
• 6 tablespoons oil
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)
• 2 tablespoons oil for the pans

Preparation

1. Sift 1 kg of flour into a large bowl. In a cup, mash the yeast with the sugar, then add 30 ml of lukewarm water and 16 g of flour taken from the prepared amounts. Leave the mixture for 10 minutes, until it starts to rise. 2. Add the salt to the sifted flour. Add 545 ml of lukewarm water and 6 tablespoons of oil, then the yeast mixture. Knead until the dough no longer sticks to your hands. 3. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until it has visibly increased in size. 4. Grease two pans with 1 tablespoon of oil each. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and divide it in two. Cut each half into two pieces, roll them into ropes and braid them in pairs. Put the loaves in the pans and leave them for 15 minutes. 5. Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of oil and brush the loaves. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds on top, if using. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 35 minutes, until the loaves are browned.