Braided Bread Recipe(How to make Beautiful Braided Bread)

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This Braided Bread Recipe will help you make beautiful bread with golden brown crust and soft, moist and delicious crumb.

Why you will love this braided Bread Recipe

• This Braided Bread recipe will help you make super soft and fluffy bread in less than two hours.
• We need only seven basic ingredients to make this simple braided bread.
• The braided bread is pillowy soft and cotton light…they are super delicious.
• For this Easy Braided Bread Recipe, we don’t need to proof the dough two times.So we can save a lot of our time.

To make this braided bread recipe, I have adapted our “Quick and Easy Dinner Rolls Recipe” which is one of the most favorite recipe of our readers on blog.I am so glad that the step by step video helped millions on Youtube, to make soft and fluffy dinner rolls in their own kitchen.

Ingredients for making this Braided Bread

• Flour :340g or 2.5 cups +2 tbsp
• Slightly warm milk (not hot) :150 ml or .5 cup +2 tbsp
• 1 Egg
• Butter :50g (3.5 tbsp)
• Yeast (instant/active dried yeast):3g or 1 tsp
• Sugar :30g or 2.5 tbsp
• Salt:6g or 1 tsp

HOW TO MAKE BRAIDED BREAD

We can make this simple three strand braided bread in 4 simple steps.

1.Prepare the dough

2.Divide and shape the dough

3.Proof the dough

4.Bake the bread

1.PREPARE THE BREAD DOUGH

Into a bowl,lets add all our ingredients together and mix them to form a shaggy mass of dough.

Add the milk,sugar,yeast,egg,salt ,butter and flour and mix them together.

Now we need to knead the dough.

To knead the dough ,use the dough hook attachment on low speed.

Knead the dough until you get a soft and smooth dough which is not sticking to your hands. Ideally it should pass the window pane test.

It may take around 10-12 minutes of kneading.The duration may slightly vary according to the gluten strength of the flour.

It took more than 15 minutes of kneading in my stand mixer to get the dough to the right consistency.

I gave short breaks for the mixer in between the kneading, so that the machine don’t get heated.

If you are kneading the dough by hand, transfer the dough onto a clean work surface.

Knead the dough until the dough become soft and elastic.

Only a well kneaded dough can produce soft and fluffy braid bread .

How should I know my dough is kneaded well?

We can test the doneness of bread dough.

If properly kneaded, the dough should stretch, without tearing or breaking, into a thin membrane that you can see through.

If we are using bread flour it is easy to attain this stage of dough (it may take around 10 minutes of kneading).As bread dough contains more proteins than all purpose flour.

But if we are using all purpose flour,it may take longer to attain this stage of perfection.

Our bread would still be good and soft even if our dough didn’t pass this window pane test.

But if the dough passes the window pane test ,and the one hour proofing, then it is guaranteed that your bread will be super soft and fluffy.

2.DIVIDE AND SHAPE THE DOUGH

Once our bread dough is ready, divide the dough into equal pieces.

HOW TO MAKE THREE STRAND BRAIDED BREAD

Once our bread dough is ready, divide the dough into 3 equal pieces.For more precision, I weighed each of them and they were around 200-201 g in weight.

Roll each piece of dough into small balls.

Tuck in the edges towards the centre and roll the balls into small round balls.

Now Cover and let the dough balls rest for 8-10 minutes before shaping them.

This resting time will give some time for the gluten strands to relax and thus it will prevent its tendency to rebound back while we shape them.

After 10 minutes, take each dough ball, degas and flatten the dough.

Roll out each dough ball and then shape it into an elongated cylindrical dough strip (around 20 cm ) by rolling.

Place each of them on the counter until we finish the rest of the rolls.And then take the first one, that we shaped.

Elongate the dough strand by pulling the dough and then rolling.

When it gain a length of around 45 cm, Keep it aside until we finish all the three.

I rolled the dough with extra pressure towards both ends, in order to get tapering ends.

HOW TO BRAID THREE STRAND BRAIDED BREAD

Arrange three strands side by side.

Firmly pinch the ends of the dough ropes together on top side. This will hold the top of the loaf together while you braid.

Begin to braid the bread by lifting the dough rope on the right and passing it over the center rope to the middle.

Even though I mentioned “middle”, you can see , I kept it closer and parallel to the one strand on the opposite side.

Then lift the one strand on the left and pass it over the center rope to the middle.

Then right over to middle , then left over to middle. Then repeat the same steps until you reach the end.

When you’ve braided all the way to the bottom of the loaf, pinch the ends of the dough ropes together.

This will give your three strand braided bread, an attractive, tapered shape, and help hold the braid together while the loaf rises and bakes.

3.PROOF THE BREAD DOUGH

Let the shaped braided bread dough sit in a warm environment for about 60 minutes or until they puff up and get doubled in size.

So cover it with a cling film and let the dough proof.

Tip :To prevent any chance of dough sticking to the cling film, I smeared the cling film with some olive oil before covering the dough.

After an hour, brush the top of the bread with an egg wash.This will help to make the top of our braided bread shiny and golden brown in colour when they are baked.

I sprinkled the top with some sesame seeds.

Now they are ready to to go into the oven.

4. BAKE THE BRAIDED BREAD

Bake the Braided Bread in a 375 F or 190 C preheated oven for around 20-22 minutes.

Baking duration may slightly vary according to the shape and size of braided bread.

Keep the baking tray in the middle rack so that the top will not get over browned.

After baking you will get a beautiful loaf of braided bread.

Transfer the bread on to a cooling rack so that the bottom will not get soggy.

Now wait for the braided loaf to cool down before slicing.

The steam which has entrapped within the bread will help to cook the bread completely, even after the baking.This is also called “Residual Baking”.

Slicing this homemade braided loaf is like slicing a cloud.It is light, airy and squishy soft.

This bread has super soft, moist crumb and amazingly beautiful golden brown crust.

You will love the beautiful pattern when you pull apart the crumb of this homemade braided bread.

You can enjoy this braided loaf with some jam, hazelnut spread or they are simply delicious even with some plain butter.

If you want to make braided bread with six strands you will love this six strand challah bread recipe.The step by step video will help you make the best challah bread.

How can I substitute egg in this Braided Bread Recipe

You can substitute egg with milk or water in this Braid bread recipe.

As one egg is approximately 45 ml,just replace the same volume with milk or water.So you can add 3 tablespoon of water or milk in place of one egg.

Remember, this will not be equivalent to adding an egg.But I can promise you that it will be difficult to find any difference between the one made with and without egg in this braided bread recipe.

How to store this beautiful braided bread

Homemade braided bread is the freshest on the first day of baking, but you can prolong its shelf life by protecting it from direct airflow and warm temperatures.

• Cool Completely: Allow the bread to cool on a wire rack to room temperature. This prevents condensation that can make it soggy.
• Wrap Well: Use plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or a resealable bag to tightly wrap the bread. Ensure there are no exposed areas.
• Freezing Option: For longer storage, slice the bread and freeze individual portions in an airtight bag or container. Toast slices when needed.
• Use within a Week: Homemade bread is best within a week. Reheat slices in the oven for that fresh-baked feel.

How to reheat this homemade braided bread

In Oven :Take the stored bread and brush/spray bread with some water. Place them into a 350 F preheated oven for 5 minutes.

This time may vary depending on the size and thickness of the bread.

If you slice the bread it will take only 2-3 minutes of baking.

After baking the braided bread will be soft, and they smells as freshly baked.

Remove the bread from the oven, carefully unwrap it, and serve while warm.

In Microwave:Place the bread slices on a microwave-safe plate and cover them with the damp paper towel. This helps prevent the bread from drying out.

Heat the bread on low power (30-50% power) for about 10-20 seconds per slice. Start with a shorter time and increase if needed, as microwave times may vary.

After heating, check if the bread is warm to your liking. Be cautious not to overheat, as it can become tough. Serve immediately.