Easy and Delicious Braided Bread

Nothing beats fresh, homemade bread.  For this simple yeast bread recipe, all you’ll need is a few simple ingredients that you likely already have, plus a little bit of elbow grease.  No stand mixer or food processor required. I’f you’re a beginner looking to learn how to make braided bread, this recipe is a great place to start!

My biggest concern with making bread for the first time was if my kneading skills were good enough.  I don’t have a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, so I knew that I would need to use my hands to get the necessary kneading work in.  Everyone tells me how difficult and tedious it is to knead bread, except my Baba, who rolls her eyes at the modern day reliance on machinery in the kitchen.  She assured me that kneading bread by hand is always best, and that it really isn’t difficult at all. I’m glad I took her word for it, because I am now completely obsessed with making my own bread, and never want to buy it from the store again.  

I adapted this recipe from a Youtube video by Homemade Modern.  While it turned out delicious when I followed the recipe exactly, I decided to switch it up a bit by swapping out half of the flour with whole wheat flour, and adding less sugar.  The end result was just right; not too sweet and a little bit hearty, but with a great fluffy soft inside. I love to pair this bread with soup, my cashew dip or with butter alone, but you can pair it with whatever tickles your fancy!

Ingredients

2 eggs

⅓ cup of sugar, plus ¼ teaspoon to activate the yeast

1 tsp salt

¾ cup of milk

¼ cup of water

¼ cup of unsalted butter

1 packet of active dry yeast

2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 cups of whole wheat flour

Method

Begin by mixing your eggs, ⅓ cup of sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

Activate the yeast by adding it to ¼ cup of very warm (but not hot) water with ¼ teaspoon of sugar. Set aside and allow to activate and foam up.

Heat the milk over high heat until it is steaming but not yet boiling. Remove from heat and add the butter and stir until melted.

Add the milk mixture and the activated yeast to the bowl and mix.

Add one cup of flour at a time, alternating between white and whole wheat, and mix in between until smooth (4 cups total).

On a well floured surface, begin kneading the dough until it is no longer sticky (this takes around 5-10 minutes).

In a well greased bowl, place the dough and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm oven (not hot! Keep it at the lowest temperature possible, and if it still feels too hot, open the oven door a little) for about 1-1 ½ hours, or until doubled in size. Turn off the oven and allow to cool.

Divide the dough into three even pieces, and roll into long, even pieces for braiding.

Pinch the three pieces together at one end, and braid. Tuck both ends underneath for a cleaner shape. Transfer the braided dough onto a greased cookie sheet (or sheet lined with parchment or silicone baking mat) cover, and allow to rise in a room temperature oven for another 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Remove the bread from the oven, and preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 20 minutes or until the outside of the bread is golden brown.

Optional: Brush the outside with some butter while it’s still warm.

Allow to cool for a few minutes before cutting into it...even though it will be tempting to rip a piece off straight out of the oven :) .

I hope you try this recipe for yourself!  It is a great, versatile bread that is also great toasted. Top it with avocado, butter, cream cheese, hummus, or if you’re feeling extra fancy…

Mascarpone, honey and pear with a pinch of cinnamon.

Enjoy, and happy baking!