Rosemary Braided Bread

So I've never made real bread before - you know, the kind of bread where you have to let it rise and knead it. But last weekend I decided to give it a whirl. I'm not the most patient person so waiting over an hour to let the dough rise and then spending many long (and painful) minutes kneading the dough wasn't something I was looking forward to. But the end result was definitely worth it.

I found this recipe on Pinterest (where most of my recipes come from). So all the credit goes to Super Healthy Kids. I picked this recipe because I just so happened to have all of the ingredients and the bread looked really impressive (it's not just a plain boring loaf of bread, it's braided and golden on the top - all great qualities of a delicious bread)

I started by adding the rosemary, yeast, salt, water, and oil olive. Mix until combined and yeast is fully dissolved (it took a couple of minutes)

Add flour and knead for 8 minutes (I am lucky enough to have a mixer with a bread hook, if you aren't as fortunate you'll have to knead by hand on a floured surface - good luck)

Place in a grease bowl and then flip dough over so it is lightly coated in grease.

Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let it rise for 1 hour in a warm place. Now, it is November and I live in New Hampshire where the temperature was hovering abound 45 degrees (not warm at all). I happened to be doing a load of laundry while I was making this bread so I rose my bread over top of the dryer (it was the perfect warm place).

The dough should nearly double in size after it has spent an hour rising.

Punch down the dough (I don't understand the purpose of this step but I did it anyways) and knead the dough for 5 minutes (I did it by hand this time because I wasn't sure if it was allowed to go back into the mixer. After 5 minutes of kneading my hands were sore and I was wondering if making this bread was really worth it.)

Divide dough into 3 equal parts and let them sit for 10 minutes.

Roll each part into an 18 inch rope. 

Braid together and pinch the ends. 

Let rise for 45 minutes or until it is doubled in size (So I actually completely forgot to do this step. I was clearly impatient because I braided it together and then threw it right in the oven.. Whoops!)

In a small bowl, combine an egg white and about a tablespoon of water. Brush mixture onto loaf. (This wasn't in the original recipe but I topped my load with more rosemary and some salt)

Bake at 450 degrees on a greased sheet for 30 minutes (or until bread sounds hallow when you tap it)

Slice, Butter, & Enjoy :)

Considering that I completely missed a step in this bread baking process (letting it rise the second time), I will admit that it came out pretty good. I would highly suggest adding the extra rosemary and salt to the top of the bread because it gave it even more flavor. This was the first real bread I've made and it certainly won't be the last!

Rosemary Braided Bread

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 tablespoons rosemary (the original recipe called for dried rosemary, I used fresh because I wanted more flavor)

2 1/2  teaspoons (1 package) active, dry yeast 

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup warm water 

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

3 cups flour

1 large egg white

In a large mixing bowl, combine rosemary, yeast, salt, water, and olive oil. Stir until combined and yeast is dissolved.

Add flour and combine.

Knead dough in mixer with dough hook for 8 minutes (if you do not have a mixer you can knead the dough by hand on a floured surface for 8 minutes)

Place dough in a grease bowl and flip dough over so the top is lightly greased.

Cover with a clean towel and place in a warm place for 1 hour. Dough should nearly double in size.

Punch dough down. Knead for 5 minutes. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Roll each dough part into 18 inch rope. Braid ropes together. Pinch ends.

Place on a grease cookie sheet. Let rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in size in a warm place. 

In a small bowl, lightly beat an egg white and 1 tablespoon of water.

Brush mixture onto braid loaf. Sprinkle with extra rosemary and salt if desired. 

Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes or until bread sounds hallow when tapped.

This bread tastes delicious when it is covered with butter and served warm!