From my cookbook: Happy Cooking! Order your copy here.
Makes 1 loaf
This looks impressive, though it’s simple to make. If you have a stand mixer, the machine does all the work, but it’s equally easy by hand. If you’ve ever plaited hair, you can make this bread and I love how it looks, but you can also make it as a simple unbraided white loaf. I sprinkle sesame seeds on top for their delicious crunch, but you could swap those for mustard, sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
Ingredients:
300ml (½ pint) whole milk, lukewarm
30g (1oz) sugar
2 x 7g (¼oz) sachets of fast-acting dried yeast
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
60g (2¼oz) butter, softened
500g (1lb 2oz) plain flour, plus more to dust
FOR THE TOPPING
1 egg
Dash of milk
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
Method:
1. In a large bowl, or a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, whisk together the lukewarm milk, sugar, yeast, salt, egg and egg yolk. Mix in the butter, followed by the flour. Keep mixing with a fork – or the stand mixer – until a dough starts to form.
2. Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, or knead in the stand mixer, if using. To knead by hand, you just simply stretch the dough and then bring it back, turn it 90° and repeat.
3. Pop the kneaded dough into a lightly floured bowl, cover with a damp cloth or clingfilm and leave to proof (rise) for 1 hour, in a warm spot. It should double in size.
4. Once the dough has risen, divide it into 3 pieces. Use your fingers to roll each piece into a strand 30cm (12 inches) long. Pinch the top of the strands of dough together, then place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Now braid the dough strands as you would locks of hair, each overlapping the next. Finish by pinching the ends of the dough strands together and tucking them underneath. Cover and leave to proof for the second time for 1 hour in a warm spot, or until doubled in size.
5. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (400°F), Gas Mark 6.
6. Lightly beat the egg and dash of milk in a cup or a small bowl, then brush this all over the loaf, sprinkling the sesame seeds evenly on top. Bake in the hot oven for 30 minutes. It’s ready when it is a light golden colour with a dry base, which has a hollow sound when you tap it. Remove once baked and allow to cool on a wire rack.
