Braided Bread

Tuesday's post was about baking Red Star Yeast's Buttermilk Whole Wheat Raisin Bread. What I didn't tell you was that the recipe sounded so good, I decided to double it…and then experiment just the tiniest bit. I decided to leave the raisins out of one of the loaves, and that’s the one I’m going to tell you about today. I guess I wanted to experience the wonder of buttermilk whole wheat bread (with brown sugar!) in more than just one way. :)

I think I'll call this one "Buttermilk Whole Wheat Brown Sugar Bread", 'cause it sounds better than "Buttermilk Whole Wheat Raisin Bread Without the Raisins"! And anyway, you know I had to mention the brown sugar. 

Oh, yeah, and I got fancy and made it into a braided loaf, partly because my mom always braided her homemade bread, and partly because I wanted to see if I could do it. She baked her braided loaves kind of free-form on a cookie sheet, but I decided to put mine in a loaf pan. I like the way this bread turned out, and how fresh it stayed for several days. I attribute that to the buttermilk and brown sugar!

My kitchen was kind of chilly the night I made this, so I turned the oven to 200 degrees, and set the bowl on top of the stove on one of the burners (off). That gave just enough indirect warmth for a good rise.

First rise

Braiding it was much easier than I had thought it might be. After the first rise, you punch the dough down, and pat it out onto a floured surface. Cut the dough into three equal parts, then roll each part with your hands into a rope (just like when you used to make Play-Doh snakes when you were a kid). Put the three ropes side by side, pinch the top ends together and just braid! When you get to the end, pinch those ends and tuck them under. Place braided loaf in a greased loaf pan and let it rise again.

Ready for the second rise

When I make this bread again (and I will), I think I will increase the brown sugar just a touch. I'd say by about one tablespoon. When you omit the raisins, it needs a bit more sweetness. That's what you do when you experiment- you find out what works, and what you might do differently next time. All part of the fun, I think.