Braided Herbed Wheat Bread

American Bread Recipes

1/2 c. water 1 c. milk 1/4 c. sugar 2 tsp. salt 1/2 c. warm water 1 pkg. dry yeast (1 Tbsp.) 2 c. whole wheat flour 4 c. white flour (approx.) 3 Tbsp. oregano 3 Tbsp. basil

A crusty bread for the dinner table. The braided top makes a dramatic presentation. Boil 1/2 c. water, mix with milk, sugar, salt in large bowl. Cool to lukewarm (test it on the inside of your wrist, like you would a baby's bottle - you don't want to kill the yeasties). In a separate bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water with a large pinch of sugar. Let stand 5 minutes. Add yeast mixture to milk mixture. Add wheat flour, oregano, basil. Add 2 c. white flour. Beat thoroughly, turn onto lightly floured board, adding enough flour to get the dough to handle easily, dough should be smooth, not sticky. Knead a few minutes, then let rest for 10. Add as much flour as necessary to keep dough from stickiness. Knead 10 minutes, let rise in covered greased bowl until doubled in size, about an hour. Punch down, divide into six ropes. Braid 3 to form a loaf, then tuck under the ends and place in a regular loaf pan. Follow the same procedure for the other three ropes. Let rise in pans until doubled, about one hour. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out and allow to cool on racks completely.

Submitted by Gretchen Grant
Contributed on: Tuesday May 11th, 2004 and modified on Monday May 10th, 2010