Although I am afraid I have caught something of a 'bread bug' since I made this. I've made 2 loaves of plain bread (the recipe is to be posted soon) in a week with plans to make at least 1 loaf a week. I mean why wouldn't I? To bake 6 loaves it adds up to about £2.50! You pay that for 2 bog standard loaves in the supermarket!
Anyway, back on to this bread. I was watching The Great British Bake a while ago (Which I do religiously. I adore that programme. I'm team James!) and they were doing plaited loaves. When I first saw them I cringed and hid behind my pillow, crying 'they looks so hard, oh god, don't ever let me make them'...
Yeah.
They are actually ridiculously simple, although they were doing 6 stranded braids and I did 3. But I looked in to it and they themselves aren't really that difficult. Maybe that can be my next project?
Three Strand Plaited White Bread
675g Strong white bread flour, plus extra for flouring
1 1/2tsp Salt
1 1/2tsp Sugar
3tsp Easy blend yeast
1 1/2tbsp Olive oil, plus extra for greasing
450ml Warm water
1 small egg
optional: a handful of seeds to sprinkle over the top (eg. poppy seed, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds etc)
1) Stir together the salt and flour, then sprinkle over the sugar and yeast.
2) Add the olive oil to the water. create a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in the majority of the water. Set some aside to help you get the right consistency. Stir together until you get a soft dough, you may have to use your hands to get it to mix altogether.
3) Knead the bread on a lightly floured surface for around 10 minutes, until it's smooth and elastic. If you've never made bread before you may be worried about knowing it's 'smooth and elastic'. Don't worry. When you're doing it, you'll know.
4) Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover it with cling film. Leave it in a warm place (for me that's my airing cupboard) for around an hour, until it's doubled in size.
5) Turn the dough out on a very lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, this will 'knock it back', which basically means removing the air.
6) Divide the dough into 3 equal portions (I weighed my dough to get it exact) and roll them into equal sausage shapes. DO NOT flour the surface. You wont get enough friction to roll them out properly.
7) Lay the sausages out and join the ends furthest away from you. Plait like you normally would, keeping the plait tight. When you come to the end squish the sausages together and tuck them underneath.
8) Transfer the loaf carefully onto a lightly floured baking tray. Cover the loaf and return back to a warm place until it's one and a half times it's size. This will take between 10-30 minutes.
9) Preheat the oven 220C/400F/Gas 7
10) Glaze the loaf with beaten egg, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies. If you want to, sprinkle with seeds.
11) Bake the loaf for 10-15 minutes and the reduce the heat to 190C/375F/Gas 5 and bake for a further 30 minutes. It's done when it's risen, golden and sounds hollow when the bottom of the loaf in tapped. Enjoy!
Until next time,
Katie.
