Knitted bread
It is known that bread was decorated in the time of the ancient Egyptians. Braid is one of the easiest ways to decorate, so today I played around and gave the bread a slightly more solemn note.
Preparation steps
- Mix the yeast in lukewarm water until it dissolves, add flour, salt and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, if you knead by hand it should take approx. 12 - 15 min. If you have a kneading machine, knead for the first 3 mins. at minimum speed and 8 min. at the fastest speed. Let the dough rest for 2 hours in a plastic bowl lightly coated with oil.
- Shake the dough on a table sprinkled with flour, divide into two equal parts. Divide each part into three equal parts, from which we make long "sausages" of approx. 30 cm. Leave to stand for 10 min.
- Place three long "sausages" next to each other. Start knitting the braid from the middle, when you are done knit the other side of the dough. Roll the ends a little so that they do not separate and tuck them under the braid. Place the bread on baking paper and underline the solid cardboard underneath (this makes it easier to move the bread in the oven for baking than when it is on the flour so you have to move it with your hands), cover with a kitchen napkin and let it rest until it doubles in volume, ca. 1 - 2 hours.
- If you have a stone on which pizza is baked, heat it in the oven to 220 * C, if you don't have one, use a large baking tray.
- Carefully coat the bread with an egg, which you just whisk a little with a fork, transfer to a heated stone or baking tray and bake for approx. 20 min.
- Cool the bread on the oven rack.
- TYPE 2 dl of water can be replaced with 2 dl of basic sourdough and bread will be even better.