Frieda's ingenious yeast plait

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 kg wheat flour type 405, good
• 500 ml milk, lukewarm
• 100 g sugar
• 42 g fresh yeast (1 cube)
• 150 g butter, soft
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, size M
• 1 tbsp lemon zest or 5 drops bitter almond flavoring
• 1 egg(s) for brushing
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• possibly grease for the mold

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours 15 minutes

For a 500g plaited loaf, simply halve the quantities. Sift flour into a large bowl. Warm the milk slightly and pour it into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar and crumbled yeast and mix everything together until the yeast is largely dissolved. Add the lemon zest or bitter almond oil and the eggs and whisk everything together well. This is best done briefly with an immersion blender, otherwise with a hand mixer. Pour this liquid into the flour all at once, add the softened butter and salt, and immediately knead everything together vigorously. A pre-dough is neither necessary nor desirable. Knead until the dough is elastic and smooth. By hand, about 10 minutes, or less with a food processor. If desired, you can of course add raisins. Cover with a damp kitchen towel (to prevent the dough from drying out) and let it double in size. (This can take 2 hours.) The dough also works very well in the BBA, ‘Knead Dough’ program. This takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes and, of course, reduces the rising time considerably. However, it only works with half the ingredients. Dust a baking sheet with flour, place the risen yeast dough on it, and knead it again by hand. Now comes the shaping. You can braid the loaf from three strands, or like this: Divide the dough in half. Form rolls that are as long as possible, with pointed ends. Wrap both rolls around each other in a spiral. It’s best to start in the middle and work towards the ends. Twist fairly tightly. You now have a spiral-shaped loaf. Hold this at both ends and, twisted as it is, twist it tightly around each other again in a spiral. The loaf will now appear much smaller and will look much narrower at one end. This is desirable and correct. This simple wrapping method will give it the appearance of a beautifully braided loaf (warning: it takes some practice), and it will rise beautifully. Place the plait diagonally on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Whisk a whole egg thoroughly, ideally with a mixer, and add a pinch of sugar and salt. This is very important because it prevents the egg-coated plait from turning black during baking. Sprinkle generously with sugar if desired. Let it rise for another 30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 160°C (fan). Some recommend using top and bottom heat, as the plait can dry out more quickly with fan heat because it rises too quickly, thus introducing too much air into the dough. In this case, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), as the plait requires a higher temperature with top and bottom heat. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes. The plait should have a caramel-colored brown color. It’s easy to tell if it’s really baked through. Simply tap the bottom with your crooked finger. If it sounds hollow, it’s done. Note: Don’t add any flour while kneading. The dough loses its stickiness with proper kneading, but only after it has risen well will it become silky smooth and no longer sticky. Using a food processor, it takes about 15 minutes, kneading slowly at first and then faster. By hand, it will probably take longer. Then you should do the window test (google it). This will tell you if it has the right consistency.