Soft Braided Dinner Bread

Name: Soft Braided Dinner Bread
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 1 cup whole milk, warm (between 100-110 degrees); 1/2 cup granulated sugar; 1 packet of active dry yeast (1/4 ounces); 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 8 tablespoons butter, room temperature; 3 large eggs, room temperature; 1/2 cup parmesan, finely shredded (optional garnish); 1/8 cup fresh or dried herbs, finely chopped (optional garnish)

January 28, 2021

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This super soft and fluffy braided bread will pair perfectly with whatever you are making for dinner… plus, it is really quite beautiful!

Whether you are baking up a big hearty lasagna or chopping up a light, refreshing caesar salad, this bread will quickly become best friends with your meal of choice. Using just a few classic ingredients, plus a few eggs, this bread comes together easily and as long as you can braid three pieces one over the other, you will have a stunning loaf to serve with dinner.

Let’s get it started…

You will need 1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons) at room temperature or maybe even a little bit softer, so set that out in advance. You will also need 1 cup of whole milk, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, 3 eggs, 1 packet of active dry yeast, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 4 1/2 cups of all purpose flour. Although this is optional, I also top this loaf with shredded parmesan and some herbs. The flavor is subtle, but just perfect. You can use fresh or dried herbs and any kind that you like or have on hand.

The first step is to bloom your yeast. In a small bowl or 2 cup glass mixing cup, combine 1 cup of warm milk (100-110 degrees) with 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and 1 packet of active dry yeast (1/4 ounce). Whisk until combined and then set it aside for about 5 minutes. This is when your yeast will “bloom”. You will know that it is ready to go when the surface of the milk is all foamy and bubbly and it should smell quite yeasty.

As you can see in the photo above, the yeast has grown up to almost 1/2 cup as it bloomed. This is a great sign! It means that your yeast is alive and awake and ready to help make your bread perfect.

Next, place 8 tablespoons of soft butter into a large bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 eggs and the bloomed yeast. Whisk until combined and start adding all purpose flour about 1/2 cup at a time. Add a little flour, mix to combine… add a little flour, mix to combine. Repeat this until a soft dough comes together and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl as you mix. This should take between 3 1/2 to 4 cups of flour.

Once the dough comes together, transfer it out onto a lightly floured surface.

Lightly dust the flour and knead for a few minutes. You are looking for a dough that feels soft and smooth. It should feel a little bit sticky, but not stick to your hands during kneading. If it is still really sticking to your hands, add a little bit more flour, but try not to add a lot. Technically, should not need more than the 4 1/2 cups of flour called for in the recipe in total, but making bread is not an exact science, so if you have used all of your flour and the dough is still sticking to your hands, dust a bit more on.

Once it feels soft and is no longer sticking to your hands, form the dough into a round ball and transfer it into a large glass bowl that has been greased with either a bit of soft butter or a little bit of olive oil.

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in a warm place for about 60 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Now that the dough is all puffy, transfer it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into three equal portions.

Roll each portion into a long rope. This is when you choose the size of loaf you want. If you want a longer, more narrow loaf, roll your ropes out long and narrow. If you prefer your loaf a little shorter and wider, then don’t roll your ropes out too long. I love the look of a long loaf with lots of braiding, so I rolled each portion out to around twenty two inches in length.

Perfection is unnecessary. Once your dough has been rolled out, gather the tops of all three ropes together and pinch the dough together lightly. Begin a basic three rope braid keeping things as even as possible as you work your way down the ropes of dough.

Once the braiding is completed, tuck each end under so the top and bottom look nice and neat. Transfer your beautifully braided loaf onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Whisk your remaining egg and brush it over the entire loaf. Be sure to get the whole top surface and down the sides and down into the braid seams. This egg wash will create a beautiful golden color during baking, so you want to get it all over this beautiful loaf.

Cover the loaf lightly with greased plastic wrap or a kitchen towel that will not stick to a soft dough and let this loaf rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Once the loaf has rested, brush any dry spots with the remaining egg wash and then sprinkle with finely shredded parmesan and herbs.

Bake for 20-30 minutes on a center rack. The wider your loaf, the longer it will take to bake. The bread is done with the top is a deep golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees.

Let the bread cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes before slicing into it. This will be a challenge, but it will all be worth it in the end…

Look at that bread!! The crust is just a little bit crispy and the interior is incredibly soft and fluffy. It tears apart so easily and is really quite delicious. This is one of my all time favorite breads. The addition of the salty parmesan and the freshness of the dill and parsley that I sprinkled over those beautiful braids before baking makes this a bread that you should definitely make.

You are going to love it…

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