Braided Egg Loaf Recipes

BRAIDED EGG BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 2-1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat water and oil to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients along with eggs. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/2 hours., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Set a third of the dough aside. Divide remaining dough into 3 pieces. Shape each into a 13-in. rope. Place ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid; pinch ends to seal and tuck under. , Divide reserved dough into 3 equal pieces; shape each into a 14-in. rope. Braid ropes. Center 14-in. braid on top of the shorter braid. Pinch ends to seal and tuck under. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Preheat oven to 375°. In a small bowl, beat egg and water; brush over dough. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cover with foil during the last 15 minutes of baking. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool.

BRAIDED EASTER EGG BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast; stir well. Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan; heat until milk is warm and butter is softened but not melted.
• Gradually add the milk and butter to the flour mixture; stirring constantly. Add two eggs and 1/2 cup flour; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal size rounds; cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each round into a long roll about 36 inches long and 1 1/2 inches thick. Using the two long pieces of dough, form a loosely braided ring, leaving spaces for the five colored eggs. Seal the ends of the ring together and use your fingers to slide the eggs between the braids of dough.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place loaf on a buttered baking sheet and cover loosely with a damp towel. Place loaf in a warm place and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes. Brush risen loaf with melted butter.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

RICH EGG BREAD

Steps:

• In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast. Add warm water and oil. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Add egg; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
• Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead about 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. (At this point, dough can be refrigerated up to 24 hours.) Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
• Grease bottom and sides of 9x5-inch or 8x4-inch loaf pan with shortening or spray with cooking spray. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Flatten dough with hands or rolling pin into 18x9-inch rectangle. Roll up tightly, beginning at 9-inch side. Pinch edge of dough into roll to seal. Pinch each end of roll to seal. Fold ends under loaf. Place loaf, seam side down, in pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap lightly sprayed with cooking spray and let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.
• Move oven rack to low position so that top of pan will be in center of oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until loaf is deep golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan to wire rack. Brush loaf with butter; cool.

BRAIDED EGG LOAF

Steps:

• In a big mixing bowl, combine the 1 1/2 cups flour, and salt.
• Add yeast to hot water and sugar together and when the yeast dissolves add it to the flour mixture above.
• Pour in the water and beat until it's smooth.
• Fold in the soft margarine, eggs and food colouring.
• Add remaining flour (a little at a time) to make a soft dough.
• On a floured board, knead until it's smooth and elastic.
• Grease a big bowl.
• Brush top of dough with melted margarine.
• In a warm spot, let it rise for about 1 1/2 hours.
• Punch dough down and knead it again on the floured board.
• Divide the dough into two equal balls.
• Then divide each ball into 3 smaller pieces and roll each of these pieces into"ropes".
• Braid the ropes to form 2 small loaves.
• Cover and let loaves rise until double in size.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Brush the loaves with the egg yolk mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds/poppy seeds.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes until the loaves sound hollow when thumped.

BRAIDED EGG BREAD

Steps:

• Combine potatoes and 5 cups water in large pot. Cover and boil until potatoes are very tender, about 40 minutes. Ladle 1 1/4 cups cooking liquid into small bowl and reserve; cool reserved liquid to lukewarm. Drain potatoes. Transfer potatoes to medium bowl and mash potatoes until smooth. Place mashed potatoes in strainer set over large bowl of electric mixer. Using rubber spatula, press mashed potatoes through strainer. Add 3/4 cup sugar, butter, 4 teaspoons salt and 1 1/4 cups reserved cooking liquid to mashed potatoes. Using dough hook, beat until well blended.
• Combine 1/2 cup warm water, yeast and pinch of sugar in small bowl. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add to potato mixture and beat to blend. Beat in 4 eggs. Mix in enough flour, 1 cup at a time, to form soft dough. Turn out dough onto generously floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary to form soft elastic dough, about 10 minutes. Lightly oil large bowl. Add dough, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Oil 2 large baking sheets. Sprinkle generously with the cornmeal. Turn out dough onto floured surface. Divide dough in half; knead each piece lightly. If desired, knead raisins into 1 piece of dough. Divide each dough piece into 3 equal portions. Roll out each portion between work surface and palms of hand to 15-inch-long rope. Form into braids, using 3 ropes for each braid. Tuck ends under and pinch ends together. Place 1 loaf on each baking sheet. Cover with towel and let rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush loaves with egg glaze. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Continue baking until loaves are deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on bottom, about 25 minutes longer. Transfer to racks and cool completely. (Can be made ahead. Wrap tightly in foil and freeze up to 2 weeks.)

STUFFED BRAIDED LOAF

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350*F.
• Grease a baking sheet.
• Remove the dough from the cans and roll them out flat together on the baking sheet, so that you make a rectangle almost the size of the sheet.
• Take a knife and cut 9 slits on each side, a little less than 1/4th of the way in, so you end up with 10 rectangular flaps on each side.
• Put the chopped ham (or cooked hamburger) in a strip down the middle of the dough, leaving about an inch between the slits and the edge of the strip on both sides.
• Scramble the eggs (with salt, to taste, if using hamburger) and put them on top of the meat.
• Then put most of the shredded cheddar cheese on top of the eggs, leaving a little extra.
• To braid the loaf take the bottom two flaps of dough, bring them together, twist twice, then lay them down on top of the pile of innards, facing the next two flaps.
• Repeat until you have worked your way up the loaf, and when you reach the last two flaps, twist them and then tuck them in to seal it.
• Take the egg white and, with a brush, spread it over the dough.
• Take the remaining cheese and sprinkle it on top of the loaf.
• Cooking times may vary, so put it in for 20 minutes and check it in 5 minute intervals until it's done.

BRAIDED EGG BREAD

Steps:

• Warm the milk and margarine until about 120F.
• Blend the liquid, 1 1/2 Cups flour, sugar, salt, yeast and eggs until moistened.
• Beat for 2 minutes. (This is easier if you have an electric mixer.).
• By hand, stir in flour until you have a stiff dough. (Don't worry if you haven't used all the flour, you will add more during the kneading process.).
• Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic. This will take about 5 minutes.
• Grease a bowl, place the dough in it and turn the greased side up.
• Cover and let rise until doubled. this will take 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Please be patient.
• Grease a cookie sheet.
• Punch down the dough and divide it into four equal parts. (Yes, four.).
• Shape each part into a strip about 20 inches long. You can roll the dough in your hands like you used to do with plasticine.
• Place the 4 strips side by side on the prepared cookie sheet. Yes, one end will extend over the ends of the sheet. Pinch the 4 strips together at one end.
• Now, braid the strips by weaving the far right strip over and under the next strips to the far left. Weave the next far right strip. Continue until you braid all the pieces.
• Then, pinch the ends together to seal.
• Cover and let the loaf rise until doubled in size. This will take up to an hour.
• You can make the loaf look really special by brushing it, before baking, with a beaten egg or egg yolk. Please take care to not let the egg drip on the cookie sheet.
• If you have sesame or poppy seeds you can sprinkle them liberally on the loaf.
• Place the loaf in an oven heated to 375°F.
• Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown. It will sound hollow when lightly tapped.
• Slide off the cookie sheet to a rack and let it cool.