I found this recipe during the pandemic when everybody started making their own bread. I needed a good recipe and I saw it in a friend's pictures. She made braided bread and I was in love! It looked so good! So fluffy and such an elegant braid! So I decided to make my own bread using that recipe and I have to say that after 2 or 3 other recipes, this one was the first that worked! It looks amazing and it tastes just as amazing! What did the trick for me was using the kithen machine instead of kneading the dough by hand. This is the result of my bread:
Today I want to present to you another option using the same recipe: buns for home made burgers or just buns if you like them more than regular bread (I do). I used half of the regular recipe for making 4 buns and the whole recipe for making 2 braided loaves of bread. Pick whichever you like best! :)
Ingredients for 4 buns or a loaf of braided bread (double the quantity for two loaves of bread):
- 300g 000 type flour
- 200g of milk
- 25g butter 82%
- 8g of salt
- 7g sugar
- 10g fresh yeast or 3g dry yeast
- an egg for glazing
- poppy seeds and/or sesame seeds for decoration
Steps:
1. For making the dough, mix 175g of flour (the rest comes later), the sugar and yeast.
2. Put the butter and the milk in a small pot over low heat (I chose 3) until the butter melts in the milk.
3. Mix the 2 compositions and beat the dough with the mixer for 5 minutes until it blisters.
4. Add the rest of the flour and the salt and knead the dough with the kitchen machine hook for about 5 minutes. Of course, it can also be kneaded by hand but you need lots of force in yor hands and enough patience to knead for about 10 min.
5. Let the dough rise in a large bowl until it doubles in size. Cover it with a bag and place it near a source of heat.
For the BUNS:
6. After the dough rose, in order to have even buns, you will need to weigh the dough. You will have around 550g of dough and you will need to divide it into 4 parts of aprox. 135g and then form the four buns.
7. Place the dough balls in a tray lined with baking paper and let them rise for another 30 minutes under a bag or a kitchen cloth.
8. Half way in, preheat the oven at 170°C.
9. After the 30 min passed, beat an egg and carefully brush the buns. Add the seeds on top.
10. Bake for 30 min at 170°C (for electric ovens use the function up + down + ventilation or the middle floor for gas ovens).
11. Let the buns cool down before cutting them. Bon appetit!
For the braided BREAD:
6. After the dough rose, in order to have an even braid, you will need to weigh the dough. You will have around 550g of dough if you use the half recipe and you will need to divide the dough into 3 parts of aprox. 135g.
7. Cover the 3 dough balls with a bag or with a kitchen cloth until you take them out and process them one by one.
8. Stretch each dough ball into a rectangle of about 30 × 20 cm and then roll the dough as tight as possible into a roll. That way your bread will have a beautiful shape.
9. Then roll the dough roll (I know, it sounds funny:P) on the table until it reaches a length of approx. 40 cm. Do the same with the rest of the dough.
10. Join the 3 rolls at one end and start braiding the dough. Place the roll on the left tightly over the one in the middle, then the one on the right over the one in the middle. Work tightly and evenly. At the end join the 3 ends and your braid is ready.
11. Place the braided bread in a tray with baking paper and let it to rise for another 30 minutes, also under a bag.
12. Half way in, preheat the oven at 170°C.
13. Beat an egg and carefully brush the braids. Add the seeds on top.
14. Bake for 30 min at 170°C (for electric ovens use the function up + down + ventilation or the middle floor for gas ovens).
15. Let the bread cool down before cutting it. Bon appetit!
