I’m really taken with how versatile the braided dough recipe is!
It’s deliciously buttery, yet only has 40g of butter in the mix, making it a reasonable lower-fat substitute for brioche. The overall preparation time is quite short – whereas regular brioche can take a full day or more to prepare, a batch of this dough started at 9am would easily be ready for lunch. Best of all, it works brilliantly in a variety of different forms, making it great for shaping!
This morning I made a double batch of the dough, using 50:50 bakers flour to plain (AP) flour. This was divided into one 500g and two 600g pieces.
The 500g dough was shaped into a linked chain loaf, following the step by step instructions at The Shiksa Blog. It’s an easy loaf to make, and involves shaping five fat rolls into linked rings, and then joining the last ring to the first to form a closed circle.
. . . . .
One of the 600g pieces of dough was divided into six long thin rolls, then shaped into a Winston knot – a tricky woven design from Jeffrey Hamelman’s Bread book. It was moderately successful in form, but I think I’ll need to try with a larger quantity of dough next time. The crumb, though, was perfect.
. . . . .
The remaining 600g piece of dough was divided into eight balls, which were packed snugly against each other in a parchment lined loaf tin. The end result was this gorgeous faux brioche, with its wonderfully tender texture. Here are a couple of crumb shots to tempt you!
Edit: Today’s loaf: a simple six braid design baked in a loaf tin…
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
As good as anything I see here in Paris.
Hey, they look fantastico!
The shaping makes so much difference to bread, doesn’t it Celia.
Noice! (=nice one)
These photos are like bread super models. :-)
I’ve got a batch of dough rising to try out your heart rolls.
Happy Baking,
Maz
Brioche: ooh la la! Delicieuse.
Roz, thank you! I’m chuffed, that’s a very big compliment! :)
Gill, you’re so right – it’s amazing how different the bread is depending on how it’s shaped. Interestingly, a few of the Mellow Bakers were a bit iffy about the dough shaped into rolls, but as loaves, I’ve found it absolutely wonderful!
Maz, I can’t wait to see how your heart rolls come out! Very exciting! :)
Peter, merci! :)
Maybe the secret is in the egg, whose eggs are going into this bread, hmmm? But seriously I love that second one, Winston Knot? I think B tries to do one of those with his tie? No wonder he gets in a tiz woz :)
Oh, yum! I love the knotted effect! I’ve got a batch of challah rising to try out a braid, eek! Thanks for inspiring. :)
Joanna, the Winston knot was great fun, but make sure the rolls are long enough. My first attempt was too short, and stretching the dough merges the three-strand into one, and you lose definition. It’s definitely worth trying – it’s in the Hamelman book. And yes, I’m sure it’s a traditional necktie knot! :)
Chris, yeeah! I can’t wait to see your challah!!! :) (No pressure…hahaha)
Oh my this looks incredible! Is there anything better than beautiful fresh bread like this?!!
Thanks Ladybird! :) More going into the oven soon…this time I’m trying a braided loaf inside a tin to see what we end up with!
Oh My… Celia your getting so gooooood at this braiding business. You’re tempting me… :)
The bread looks fabulous! My husband was on a bread making kick about a year ago. He made a few door stops but I always tried to encourage him on. I’ll show him these pictures and hopefully he’ll feel inspired again. :)
Love reading about the bread braiding! And I loove the colour… such a dark golden brown… Soy and I really need to set aside a weekend just for bread making ;)
Excellent! They look so good. The winston knot especially Celia. Very professional. Have your boys eaten them all up yet?
I was fiddling with the sourdough and the starfish plan this morning. 10 minutes before I had to leave the house and I decide now would be good time to fiddle…verdict- I need a bigger tray! I managed 4 strand with 3 arms but need to up it to 6 strand and 6 arms…*sigh* it keeps me off the streets and out of mischief.
Anna, thank you! I’m thoroughly enjoying the creative process.. :)
Cat, thank you! This recipe is very nice – maybe your hubby might enjoy it? It makes a close textured, but tender, bread.
Honey, thanks – it’s certainly consumed my entire weekend! But I feel like it’s been well spent, the freezer is stacked, and the kids and neighbours are all well fed! :)
Brydie, they had them for dinner last night, so I’ve made some more today (and added photos of my newest loaf!). I can’t wait to see how you go with that starfish!!! :)
I am truly salivating as I type! I can just imagine pulling apart strips of the winston knot and slathering each piece with butter as i go!
Isn’t it lovely how food can be beautiful as well as practical? Rebel against boring I say!
Celia, I think your house might be the only one where burglars would just run out with the freezers. I’m with Gill – noice!
Celia – they look simply perfect. I love the Winston knot. And I second Roz’s comment!
Sounds great-like the less high maintenance version of a brioche which is always a winner. I do love brioche but it’s such a production! :P
Sarah, thank you! Hope all the preps for the kitchen are going well.. :)
Great advice, Chef! Who wants ordinary? :)
Jan, thanks…they’d have trouble – they’re all pretty full. :)
Anna, Lorraine, this is a really nice pretend brioche, and probably good for all those thing you’d normally use brioche for – french toast, pudding, pain au chocolat etc. Anna, I’ve promised your S-I-L that I’d make her a few loaves for the freezer – her little man is hooked! :)
That looks great! I wish I could taste it.
I am almost speechless!
These are soo much better a.k.a. more professional than my braided wreaths and such!
Celia, you are a wonder!
Thanks for the starfish plans, I will work on those this winter when life isn’t quite so hectic. Between babysitting and knitting socks- helping out at craft shows and just keeping my household going, my creativity level seems to stay in known patterns rather than stepping it up a few levels.
You, however, are a braiding marvel.
Debra, thank you! I wish you could taste it too! :)
Heidi, praise from the bread queen, thank you so much!! I wouldn’t have tried this again if it hadn’t been for your inspiration. I do think finding the right dough recipe has been the key part – I just couldn’t get this to work as well in sourdough! You and Brydie are braver than I to try the starfish!
Yum – I love the idea of a healthier brioche. I am trying to be good about wheat this week though so I had better not look too closely at any of these last two posts…..:)
You outdid yourself with all this baking! I am so impressed, they do look like something you would find in the best bakeries of Europe!
I made brioche only once and it is indeed involved – I also find it a bit “too rich” – I guess this recipe would be perfect
The Winston knot and the linked rings are stunning. Just printed out the linked rings directions and will try them myself soon!
SG, you’d love how simple this is, although maybe not all the milk powder in the recipe!
Sally, this is a really simple recipe, and just a ball to play around with! It still tastes quite buttery, which is surprising!
Andrea, thanks for dropping in! :) Have fun with the rings..
wow! i am a carb addict! these look amazing!
Hahaha… we have been eating a lot of carbs lately, Aleida! Thank you! :)
[…] easily, and once it was time for braiding I decided to try the Winston knot which I had seen in Celia’s blog post. I divided the dough into 6 equal parts, shaped them into strands and tried my best at shaping the […]