Hello, hello! There's nothing like a really moist and fluffy braided bread. Preferably still warm and fresh from the oven. The kitchen smells great.
The yeast dough is so soft that you can "pluck" it wonderfully… I looooooove yeast pastries in general - no matter whether as biscuits or, for example, as a crumble cake.
Taste and Occasion
Tastes differ, sure, but for me, grandma's braided bread is unbeatable. With her recipe, I get childhood memories!
You should definitely try this braided bread recipe if you like soft, fluffy dough as I do. Since I first posted this recipe in 2017 on my german blog, it's been one of our readers' favorites.
Ingredients
As is often the case with classics like this braided bread, the recipe is anything but spectacular. On the contrary, both the ingredients and the preparation are simple. Even if you have little baking experience, you will succeed in this braided bread.
By the way, it doesn't matter much whether you bake this recipe with dry yeast or with fresh yeast (as I usually do). The braided bread becomes excellent if you use two egg yolks instead of the whole egg and double-grain flour or Type 550 wheat flour instead of the conventional Type 450 flour.
How to make the Soft and Fluffy Braided Bread
Are you ready for this easy recipe? First things first: Put the flour in a large bowl, grab a spoon and make a deep hollow in the center. Then, crumble the yeast into 50 milliliters of the lukewarm milk, add 1 teaspoon of the sugar, stir and dissolve.
After that, pour the yeast milk into the well. Mix it with a tablespoon of flour from the edge and leave the pre-dough covered in a warm place for 10 minutes. Now, add the remaining milk, sugar, egg yolks, softened butter, salt, vanilla pulp and lemon zest to the bowl. Mix all of the ingredients together and let knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and comes off the bowl edge.
Cover yeast dough with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour. When doubled its volume, transfer the dough to a very lightly floured work surface.
Now it's time to knead the dough again briefly with your hands. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and form them into strands. Plait the strands into a braid, not starting at the very edge, but a little further in the middle (this will allow you to shape or finish braiding the ends nicely afterward).
Place the braids on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, cover with a cloth and let them rise for another 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Whisk the egg yolk with the milk and brush the plaits with it.
Sprinkle the braid with flaked almonds and hail sugar, if desired. Bake for about 35 minutes until the braided bread looks golden brown and you're done.
As I have already mentioned: This recipe is sure to succeed - even for beginners!
Top Tip
Start plaiting the dough strands in the middle and not on the sides. You can see what I mean in the recipe. It's an easy way to shape the ends. For braided bread, as you know from the bakery, I prefer to use three strands. And, because 3-strand-braids are, of course, a lot easier than braids with 4 or 6 or 8 strands 😉 . The principle is the same as with a hair braid.
Recipe Card
Soft and Fluffy Braided Bread
Ingredients
For the yeast dough
- 400 grams (3 cups) all-purpose flour, preferably type 550
- 180 milliliters (¾ cups) milk, lukewarm
- ½ cube fresh yeast, or 1 packet of dry yeast
- 60 grams (⅓ cups) sugar, depending on taste up to 100g
- 2 egg yolks, medium, or 1 large egg
- 75 grams (⅓ cups) butter, soft
- 2 pinches salt
- 1 piece vanilla pod, scraped out pulp
- ¼ teaspoon (⅓ teaspoon) grated lemon zest
To finish
- 1 egg yolk, medium
- 1 teaspoon milk
- hail sugar, to taste
Instructions
- Put the flour in a large bowl. Make a deep hollow in the center with a spoon. Crumble the yeast into 50 milliliters of the lukewarm milk, add 1 teaspoon of the sugar, stir and dissolve. Pour the yeast milk into the well. Mix with a tablespoon of flour from the edge and leave the pre-dough covered in a warm place for 10 minutes.
- Add the remaining milk, sugar, egg yolks, softened butter, salt, vanilla pulp and lemon zest to the bowl. Mix all ingredients together and let knead (about 10 minutes) until the dough is smooth and comes off the bowl edge.
- Cover yeast dough with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.
- When doubled its volume, transfer the dough to a very lightly floured work surface.
- Knead again briefly with your hands. Divide the dough into three equal pieces and form them into strands.
- Plait the strands into a braid, not starting at the very edge, but a little further in the middle. This will allow you to shape or finish braiding the ends nicely afterwards.
- Place the braids on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, cover with a cloth and let rise for another 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Whisk the egg yolk with the milk and brush the plaits with it.
- Sprinkle the braid with flaked almonds and hail sugar, if desired. Bake for about 35 minutes until golden brown.
Notes
- To make braided bread with raisins, simply soak about 100 grams of raisins in 2 tablespoons of juice or rum for at least an hour. Drain and knead into the dough at the end of the second step.
Ingredient substitutions
Variations
I like this fluffy pastry best in the classic alternative: Pure with beaten egg yolk, a little hail sugar on top, or a braided bread with raisins. It fits the coffee get-together just like the breakfast.
If you want, you can also spread the braided bread with butter or jam. I have to say that the pastry's sweetness itself is enough for me, although this recipe contains just a little sugar.
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