Who said that a loaf of white sandwich bread has to be boring? This super simple soft white bread loaf is not only delicious but it is decorated with a pretty braid on top to make your toast or sandwich a little more perfect and interesting to eat!
I adapted the recipe from A's Bakery to use tipo 00 flour instead of bread flour. I had over ordered a bunch of tipo 00 flour a couple of months back so I kneaded (*grin*) to make more bread. Tipo 00 flour is lower in gluten (12%) vs bread flour (14%) so the result of bread made with tipo 00 is a slightly different. It is a little bit chewier but that's perfectly fine with me. You can read more about the difference between bread flour and tipo 00 flour on this article by MasterClass. Here are the links to my TikTok and Instagram video.
Ingredients:
250 g Bread flour (I used 300 g of tipo 00 flour)
20 g Sugar
5 g Salt
1 tsp Yeast
20 g Butter
205 g Milk
Eggwash - 1 Egg yolk + 1 Tbsp milk
In a measuring jug, warm milk for 30 sec in the microwave.
Add sugar and yeast. Stir and set aside for 10 mins to activate the yeast.
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook, add flour and salt.
Pour in milk-yeast mixture and mix on low till all the flour has been incorporated.
Add in butter and mix for 15 mins till dough is formed.
Transfer to work surface and knead for a further 5 mins by slapping dough down and then folding over itself with the help of a bench scraper. Repeat till a smooth dough is formed and passes the window pane test.
Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and rest for 60 mins or till doubled in size.
Punch dough down. Measure out 80 g of the dough for the braid.
Flatten and fold both the large and small doughs into balls. Cover and rest for 20 mins.
Oil a loaf pan. Flatten the large dough with a rolling pin and roll it up to form a log. Place dough log into loaf pan.
Divide the small dough into 3 and roll into long logs. Braid them together and place braid on top of the main loaf in the pan. Cover and rest for another 60 mins.
Preheat oven to 190C. Gently brush the top of the bread with egg wash. Bake for 23 mins.
Remove from oven and brush top of loaf with melted butter immediately. Leave on rack to cool for 15 mins.
Unmold and cool completely before slicing.
Fact: life is better with freshly baked bread.
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