There are very few foods as satisfying to make yourself (and eat!!) as bread! This garlic and herb plaited bread is not only super delicious it’s also easy to make. This recipe is really versatile, you can easily customise it to fit your tastes by adding in different herbs, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, chopped nuts or by sprinkling poppy or sesame seeds on top.
Ingredients
For the bread
- 500 g white bread flour
- 1 sachet dry active yeast (7g)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 315 mL warm water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 clove garlic
For the wash
- 1 tbsp margarine
- 2 tbsp non-dairy milk
Servings: large loaf
Instructions
- In a large bowl mix the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and dried herbs. Finely chop the garlic and add that to the bowl along with the olive oil. Slowly add the warm water (you may not need it all) and mix in with a wooden spoon until the dough begins to come together. When the dough is the right consistency it will pull away from the sides of the bowl without leaving any dough behind.
- Once the dough is the right consistency remove it from the bowl and place it on a surface that has been dusted with flour. Knead the dough for 10 minutes by hand (or 5 minutes in a mixer with a dough hook). The dough should be elastic and spring back when you press it with your finger.
- Split the dough into three equal pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a long skinny sausage shape and make sure all the dough "sausages" are equal length.
- Stick the three dough "sausages" together at one end and plait them. When you have finished plaiting the three pieces, stick the ends together and tuck them under the loaf.
- Melt the margarine and stir in the non-dairy milk to make the wash, (it's easier to mix them if the milk is at room temperature). Use a pastry brush to brush the wash generously onto your bread (use around half of the wash mix).
- Place your loaf on a lined baking tray and cover with lightly oiled cling film. Leave in a warm place to prove for around an hour or until the loaf has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Brush a little more wash onto your bread and once the oven is hot, put your bread in and bake for around 35 minutes. Halfway through you can take the bread out and brush a little more wash on if you have some left, then return the bread to the oven.
- If you're not planning on eating your bread right away be sure to store it in an air tight container.