Braided Bread
Bread is the best thing that exists. I don’t care what you say, bread is life 😄. I know that’s quite the statement but let’s face it, bread has been around for centuries and it is the one thing that no matter where you’re from, you know what it is and how amazing it is. I am always on the hunt for the best bread recipes. Of all the things places I’ve looked and the recipes I’ve tried, I’ve had the most success with Serbian (Eastern European recipes in general) recipes. We may not be known for our breads (but I mean who can compete with the French), but I assure you, every mama, baba (grandma), Tetka (aunt) know how to make an incredible loaf.
One of my go to recipe creators is Saša. His recipes are amazing and completely doable. Granted he uses ingredients that aren’t exactly readily available to me but all in all, it’s possible. I recently came across one of his bread videos on YouTube and I am so glad I did. Unlike him, I did not have fresh yeast (I can’t seem to find it anywhere so if you know where in Washington it is sold, please help a girl out) and a certain type of sour cream. But dry yeast and regular sour cream will work just as well. Yes, you read right, sour cream. I’m really starting to think that sour cream is the key to many amazing doughs!
Ingredients:
1/2 of 1 block of fresh yeast (20 g) or packet of dry yeast
1 Tbsp of sugar
1 Tbsp of flour
1,5 Dcl warm water
18 oz of sour cream (about 3/4 cup)
3 Tbsp of olive oil (or sunflower oil)
1Tbsp of salt
500g of flour
Directions:
Crumble the yeast (if using fresh yeast) and add sugar, a little flour and lukewarm water. Stir and let the yeast work for five to ten minutes.
Add sour cream, oil, salt, and mix everything well and add flour and knead the dough. Do not just "turn" the dough twice, but knead it well to get a soft and non-sticky finger.
Cover and leave for half an hour to stand in a warm place.
Once it has doubled, mix the dough well in the same way as you kneaded it and then shape the bread as a braid or whatever your heart desires.
This part is optional but I decided to put flaky sea salt on one while the other I went with black sesame seeds.
Place the shaped bread on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, then coat it with wet hands for a few minutes and sprinkle with a little flour.
Leave it to rise for about half an hour in a warm place before baking. Then bake for about half an hour at 350 F or until golden or the desired color.
