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| Photos Courtesy of Janae Monir |
Braided Bread
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour; for their step-by-step version with photos, click here.
Ingredients:
For the sponge:
3/4 cup warm water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1/2 cup unbleached flour
For the dough:
All of the sponge
3/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup ( 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups unbleached flour
egg wash for brushing braid
pearl sugar or sparkling white sugar for sprinkling on braid
For the cream cheese filling:
2/3 cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup filling of your choice (lemon curd, jam, etc. — see above)
Directions
In a small bowl, combine the sponge ingredients. Stir well to combine, loosely cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to proof for 10 to 15 minutes.
In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the sponge, yogurt, butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Add 4½ cups of flour and mix with the paddle attachment until the dough is a rough, shaggy mass. Switch to the dough hook and knead on speed 2 until a soft, smooth dough forms, about 5 to 6 minutes, adding more flour if needed to achieve the correct consistency (smooth, pliable, supple).
Place the kneaded dough in a bowl coated in cooking spray, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until quite puffy and nearly doubled.
While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Combine all the filling ingredients (except the lemon curd or other flavor choice) in a small bowl, mixing until smooth and lump-free. Reserve the filling and other flavoring until ready to fill the braids.
After 60-90 minutes, gently deflate the dough and divide it in half (or four pieces if you are making smaller loaves). Roll out the first piece into a rectangle about ¼” thick, while keeping the other pieces of dough covered with plastic wrap so they don’t dry out. Rolling out the dough and then placing onto parchment paper makes moving the bread to the baking sheet much, much easier. Lightly press two lines down the dough lengthwise (don’t cut through the dough), to divide it into 3 equal sections. Spread half the cream cheese filling down the center section (or ¼ of the cream cheese, if you’re making 4 loaves), and top with half (¼ cup) of the filling of your choice (or 2 tbsp if you’re making 4 smaller loaves), leaving 1″ free on all sides of the filling. You can see in the photos above that I forgot to leave 1″ free on the sides. The consequence of this is that the filling has a tendency to spill out as it bakes.
To form the “braid,” cut 1″ crosswise strips down the length of the outside sections, making sure you line them up evenly and have the same number of strips down each side. Cut off top two strips and bottom two strips on either (the corners), leaving a rectangle of dough on the top and bottom (save the dough scraps you cut off!*). Begin the braid by folding down the top rectangle, and then starting on the left, lift the top dough strip and gently bring it across the filling diagonally. Repeat on the other side with the top dough strip, so that the two strips crisscross each other. Continue down the entire braid, alternating strips to form the loaf. When you have one strip left on each side, fold the bottom rectangle up toward the filling, and then criss-cross the last two strips over it, tucking them under at the end. This leaves a more ‘finished’ edge, and guarantees you won’t have filling falling out the bottom.
Repeat the rolling, filling, and braiding steps for the rest of your pieces of dough, using the remaining cream cheese filling and other filling flavors you have chosen. Set loaves aside, lightly covered, to rise for 45 to 50 minutes, or until quite puffy (though I never notice it gets that much bigger at this stage). Also, to be safe, I always lightly spray the plastic wrap before covering the bread, just in case it sticks. You don’t want to ruin your pretty braids!
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the loaves with egg wash (one lightly beaten egg, 2 teaspoons water and a pinch of salt), and sprinkle with coarse sparkling sugar, if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Store in the fridge or freeze, as directed in the post.
Yield: 2-4 loaves.
- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Many thanks to JanaeMonir!
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