Homemade braided bread

Name: Homemade braided bread
Ingredients: 500 g flour; 1 teaspoon salt; 10 g dry yeast; 2 eggs; 250 ml milk; 2 tablespoons oil; 1 egg yolk; 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Pasta/Pizza - Homemade braided bread by Catinca A. - Recipia

Homemade braided bread, made with a milk-and-egg dough, bakes into two loaves with a fluffy crumb and a golden crust. Flour and yeast make an elastic dough, braided from three ropes and sprinkled with sesame seeds. I cut it into thick slices and eat it with a simple soup. Prep: 20 minutes. Cook: 30 minutes. Rest: 70 minutes. Total time: 120 minutes. Servings: 8. Approximately 310 kcal and 11 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

500 g flour
1 teaspoon salt
10 g dry yeast
2 eggs
250 ml milk
2 tablespoons oil

For topping

1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Preparation

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the salt and dry yeast, then mix. 2. Make a well in the flour, add the eggs and lukewarm milk, and mix gently. Pour in the oil and knead until you have an elastic, non-sticky dough. 3. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave the dough in a warm place for about 60 minutes, until doubled in size. 4. Divide the dough in two, then divide each half into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope. 5. Join the ends of three ropes and braid them. Repeat with the other three ropes. 6. Place the two loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and leave them to rise for another 10 minutes. 7. Heat the oven to 180°C. Brush the loaves with the egg yolk and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden.

Notes

You can replace the milk with 250 ml of water, and the crumb will be less rich. The dough contains gluten, milk and eggs, and sesame is sprinkled on top. Once the bread has cooled, you can freeze any slices you won't use. I serve it with soup; like regular sandwich bread, it holds simple fillings well. In a cold kitchen, the dough may take more than an hour to rise, while in a warm one it reaches the required size sooner. If the dough seems firm when you knead it, check that the milk is lukewarm, not cold. On a large baking sheet, leave space between the two loaves so they don't touch as they rise. If I'm planning a meal for a set time, I start the rising with some leeway and watch the dough, not just the clock.