Categories: breads
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water or milk
- 2 pkg. dry active yeast
- 6-7 cups bread flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 egg
Directions
- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water ( 75 to 120 degrees. Not too hot or too cold or yeast will not bloom).
- Stir in sugar and salt. Add 3 cups flour and mix well. Add oil and egg and mix well. Then add remaining flour. ( The dough will be sticky, so don’t add more flour).
- Wet a clean dish towel and ring it out. Cover the bowl of dough with the towel. Put the bowl in a warm, moist place, and let stand overnight. (If you warm the damp towel in the microwave, and lay it over the bowl, then put bowl and all in the microwave to rise, it works just fine, as long as nobody turns the microwave on).
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When dough is doubled in size, braid as follows:
- Divide the dough into 3 pieces. Cut 1 piece into thirds; with your hands, roll each piece into a 16-inch-long rope. place ropes side by side and braid as you would hair.
- pinch ends of braid to seal, and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Repeat with one more piece of dough for second loaf.
- Cut remaining piece of dough into 6 pieces
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and roll each into a 17 inch-long rope ( Will be thinner than the other ropes). Braid each set of three into braid, and pinch ends together to seal.
- Place the smaller braid on top of a large braid; tuck ends of small braid under bottom braid, stretching top braid if necessary.
- Arrange loaves at least 5 inches apart on an oiled or greased cookie sheet; cover and let rise in a warm place until doubles in size. (If you heat your oven to the lowest temperature possible, and then turn it off, it makes a usable proofer.)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake bread for about for about 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush top and sides of loaves with butter. Let cool on wire rack.