Time to bake

Today I wanted to attempt a braided yeast bread. I have never tried to make one before and today is as good as any day to try.

It was very simple to make and it turned out great. It is definitely going in my "favorite recipe book". I know it was a success when two hours after it came out of the oven, it has already halfway disappeared.  Buying a bread machine was really never an option for me, because there is nothing like kneading bread dough until it's nice and glossy. When I lived in the states I used to make bread at least once a week. Here in Germany bread is in abundance, and the varieties are amazing. However, there is nothing like the smell of fresh bread coming out of the oven.

Braided yeast bread:

3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup warm milk ( not too hot, yeast does not like scalding liquids.)
Years ago, I made a recipe from an old cookbook and they talked about blood warm liquid with yeast. I found that that is definitely a good description of how warm it should be.
4 tbs. sugar
1/2 cube of fresh yeast or 1 pkg. dry yeast
6 tbs. butter, room temperature
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/2 tbs. lemon zest
2-3 drops of almond aroma

1 egg, beaten
2 tbs. coarse sugar or almond slices


 Dissolve the yeast in warm milk with sugar. Meanwhile, mix the flour and the salt. Add the rest of the ingredients; butter, egg, lemon zest, and almond aroma. Knead until dough is soft, but not sticky. If the dough is too wet and sticky, add a little flour, just a bit at a time. Let it rest in a covered bowl until it has doubled.
It takes about 2 hours.
Then you need to punch down the dough and knead some more. Divide in three equal parts. roll it out on a floured surface. The rolls need to be about the size of a Quarter in diameter.
You can start now to braid the three rolls, tucking the ends under. Place the finished braid on a Parchment lined baking sheet and cover up to let it rise again, until doubled.
When the bread has doubled in size, brush it with the beaten egg and sprinkle it with the coarse sugar or the almond slices, or maybe both. 
Bake in a 400 F  preheated oven for about 20 minutes, turn down the heat to 360 F and bake for another 25 minutes. The total baking time is 45 minutes. If the bread gets too dark, just cover it with tinfoil to prevent it from burning.