552
Serves 5
Cooking time: 2 hours
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg beaten
- ⅛ cup of unsalted butter, melted
- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups milk
Method
- In a small jug mix the warm milk, salt and yeast, put aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, add sugar and mix. Add yeast mixture, butter and egg.
- Attach a dough hook to a stand mixer and combine on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides with a spatula as needed to incorporate the flour. Knead until the dough is stiff and sticky, about 12 minutes.
- Place the dough on a lightly floured board and hand knead for about 3 minutes, adding a little more flour to prevent sticking.
- Shape dough into a ball, cover with a dish towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes
- Divide into 6 pieces. Roll each piece to form a wide rope. Next, twist rope to form a “braid” then join ends to form a wreath.
- Place the dough braids on to a parchment-lined baking sheet, providing enough room for the bread to rise.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a dish towel and allow to rise in a warm area until it doubles in size.
- Preheat the oven to 177C.
- Whisk the egg and 1 teaspoon of water and brush each braided bread with the egg wash. Bake until golden brown, approximately 15 to 18 minutes. Quickly transfer the baked bread to a cooling rack and gently brush with melted butter.