EGG BRAID BREAD

EGG BRAID BREAD

Olivia and I hope you and your family and friends had a great Easter holiday.  We certainly did.  We were invited to the home of friends for dinner and had a super fun time and lots of delicious food.  Olivia took the yummy desserts of cake and lemon tarts.  I offered to bring the bread.  I haven't made yeast bread from scratch for quite some time so I was a little worried that it would be edible.  I did a test run the week before Easter and the bread turned out great.  The loaf pictured here is the one I took to our friends' home.  It turned out great as well.  The leftover bread from the first loaf was still in the refrigerator today so I made french toast out of it and it was very good and held together well.  I like this recipe because it it fairly easy and seems to be foolproof.
I got it from the Taste of Home website.  I learned the hard way years ago that one of the easiest ways to ruin yeast bread is to not use fresh yeast.  The other way is to get the liquid too hot and kill the yeast.  If you remember those two tips, you are on your way to successful bread making.  Another handy tip is to use the dough hook on your mixer if you have one.  It says lots of elbow grease and makes for a lovely dough.  Enjoy!
-Nanette

Ingredients

• 3-1/4 to 3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 eggs
• TOPPING:
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 2-1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat water and oil to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients along with eggs. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours.
3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Set a third of the dough aside. Divide remaining dough into three pieces. Shape each into a 13-in. rope. Place ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under.
4. Divide reserved dough into three equal pieces; shape each into a 14-in. rope. Braid ropes. Center 14-in. braid on top of the shorter braid. Pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, beat egg and water; brush over dough. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cover with foil during the last 15 minutes of baking. Remove from the oven and cool.
   

   Nutritional Facts

   1 slice: 134 calories, 4g fat (1g saturated fat), 40mg cholesterol, 123mg sodium, 20g carbohydrate (1g sugars, 1g fiber), 4g protein.