Sweet Braided Bread

Ingredients:

• About 3.5 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 pack (1/4oz) of active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup of milk for dough + 1 table spoon of milk for brushing
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1/4 cup of water
• 2 eggs (an egg for dough and another one for brushing)
• 3.5 oz of butter
• Poppy seeds
• A table spoon of salt

How to prepare, step-by-step:

1. Prepare ingredients: remember ingredients for recipes using yeast should be warm but not hot, only in this case yeast will grow to give your bread nice puffy texture:

   

2. Warm up 1/4 cup of water till about 110F (but not more), add about table spoon of sugar and mix active dry yeast in, cover with something and set aside for about 15 min:

   

3. Yeast will rise and form leaven:

   

4. Meanwhile, warm up milk (again to about 110F but not more) and pour it to the big mixing bowl:

   

5. Mix in remaining sugar:

   

6. An egg:

   

7. Melt butter (I used microwave) in advance, make sure it is not hotter than 110F and add to the mixing bowl:

   

8. Then add leaven and mix:

   

9. Add salt to flour and start sifting it to the mixing bowl, starting from now you can use stand mixer with dough hook or a fork if you mix it by hands:

   

10. Continue adding flour until you can dough which can be kneaded by hands, knead it a bit, then move back to the bowl it was mixed in:

    

11. Cover bowl with clean towel and put it to the warm (but not hot) place for about 2 hours, it is important that temperature is consistent, so avoid opening towel. By the end of 2h timeframe, if everything worked as it should, the dough will rise, but it will get a bit sticky, so get it to the wooden board generously powdered with flour and knead several times so it stops sticking to your hands:

    

12. Then divide dough into 4 equal pieces:

    

13. Roll one piece of dough into sheet with rolling pin:

    

14. And roll it up with your hands:

    

15. Repeat for the all dough pieces, make sure all rolls are they same length:

    

16. Lay a baking sheet with parchment paper and stick all 4 rolls together on one side:

    

    Start braiding: move side rolls into middle and cross them over, and middle rolls to the sides:

    

    Continue braiding in the same manner:

    

    Until you get full braid, join ends and hide them under the braid. Then cover with towel and set aside in warm place for 10-15 mins, meanwhile warm up oven up to 370F:

    

17. Separate egg yolk from egg white (you will not need that egg white for this recipe), mix egg yolk with one table spoon of milk:

    

18. Then brush top side of bread with egg yolk and milk mix:

    

19. And season with poppy seeds to taste:

    

20. And put to the oven warmed up to 370F for 20-25 mins:

    

21. Take ready sweet bread from oven and let it cool down on room temperature, cover with towel if needed:

    

22. Slice it up and serve for breakfast or any other occasion. By the way, this kind of bread tastes good with yogurt or kefir, or like we had it with banana milkshake: