Dilly Onion Bread
About a month ago, I picked up a 20 kg bag of all purpose flour and finally got a chance to do some bread baking. I used two different shaping methods ... the traditional 3 strand braid and the more exotic 'epi' which is supposed to resemble the way that wheat grows on its sheaf which is referred to as an épi de blé. In reality, the epi is simply a fancy pull-apart bread. :)
The three-strand braid
Dilly-Onion Bread Braid (1 1/2 pound loaf)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 - 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 pkt instant yeast
2 tbsp sugar, divided
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp salt (you may want to add more on your second loaf)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp dill seed
1 tbsp dill weed
3/4 - 1 cup sour cream
1 egg (2nd egg may be used for brushing top of braid)
Fry onion in olive oil, let cool.
Activate yeast in 1/4 c warm water and 1 tsp sugar.
Break egg into a pyrex measuring cup. Beat well with a fork, then spoon in enough sour cream to reach the 1 cup mark.
In a large bowl, add 3 1/4 c flour, salt, remainder of sugar, dill seed and dill weed. Stir in the cooled onion and oil, activated yeast and egg/sour cream mixture. Knead 5-8 min, adding enough flour to make a loose dough. In an oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hr or until doubled. Cut into 3 pieces, roll into 12-14" strips and braid onto a seasoned baking sheet.
(Alternatively, you can sprinkle corn meal onto the baking sheet, or just use a sheet of parchment paper to line the baking sheet.)
Let rise again, covered, until doubled in size. Brush with milk or beaten egg and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 min or until golden brown and bottom sounds hollow when rapped with knuckle.
2 Variations in shaping methods.
Cut the dough into 2 pieces, about 3/4 pound each. You can make 2 of either of the shapes below or 1 of each, as I did.
Mini Braid
Take one of the pieces, and divide into 3 equal balls. Form each ball into a rough rod shape and then using the flat of your palms, roll each ball out into a 12-14" rope. Form a braid and let it rise covered for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Brush with an egg beaten with a couple of teaspoons of cold water, or if you find you've run out of eggs, just use some milk. Sprinkle with ~1/4 tsp coarse sea salt and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 deg F.
Epi (Sheaf of wheat) - 6 to 8 individual servings/segments
Roll the dough into a 12-14" baguette. The length depends on the size of your baking sheet and oven. With a sharp pair of scissors, cut the baguette into an epi. The narrower the baguette, the more sharply defined will be your individual segments. Letting the dough over-rise will blunt the sharp points of the segments. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 350 deg F.
Kitchen Mage's Blog has the best instructions and pictures for shaping an epi. :)
Epi style bread pictures expired.
I restrained myself and am only posting a few of the many, many pictures I took. :)
ETA: I added another picture of the 2 differently shaped breads before I let them rise so that you could compare (ok, I meant admire) the cuteness of the epi shape with its sharp points unblunted by 'someone' letting it over-proof while she baked the braid first. :)
The three-strand braid
Dilly-Onion Bread Braid (1 1/2 pound loaf)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 - 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 pkt instant yeast
2 tbsp sugar, divided
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp salt (you may want to add more on your second loaf)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp dill seed
1 tbsp dill weed
3/4 - 1 cup sour cream
1 egg (2nd egg may be used for brushing top of braid)
Fry onion in olive oil, let cool.
Activate yeast in 1/4 c warm water and 1 tsp sugar.
Break egg into a pyrex measuring cup. Beat well with a fork, then spoon in enough sour cream to reach the 1 cup mark.
In a large bowl, add 3 1/4 c flour, salt, remainder of sugar, dill seed and dill weed. Stir in the cooled onion and oil, activated yeast and egg/sour cream mixture. Knead 5-8 min, adding enough flour to make a loose dough. In an oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hr or until doubled. Cut into 3 pieces, roll into 12-14" strips and braid onto a seasoned baking sheet.
(Alternatively, you can sprinkle corn meal onto the baking sheet, or just use a sheet of parchment paper to line the baking sheet.)
Let rise again, covered, until doubled in size. Brush with milk or beaten egg and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 min or until golden brown and bottom sounds hollow when rapped with knuckle.
2 Variations in shaping methods.
Cut the dough into 2 pieces, about 3/4 pound each. You can make 2 of either of the shapes below or 1 of each, as I did.
Mini Braid
Take one of the pieces, and divide into 3 equal balls. Form each ball into a rough rod shape and then using the flat of your palms, roll each ball out into a 12-14" rope. Form a braid and let it rise covered for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Brush with an egg beaten with a couple of teaspoons of cold water, or if you find you've run out of eggs, just use some milk. Sprinkle with ~1/4 tsp coarse sea salt and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 deg F.
Epi (Sheaf of wheat) - 6 to 8 individual servings/segments
Roll the dough into a 12-14" baguette. The length depends on the size of your baking sheet and oven. With a sharp pair of scissors, cut the baguette into an epi. The narrower the baguette, the more sharply defined will be your individual segments. Letting the dough over-rise will blunt the sharp points of the segments. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 350 deg F.
Kitchen Mage's Blog has the best instructions and pictures for shaping an epi. :)
Epi style bread pictures expired.
I restrained myself and am only posting a few of the many, many pictures I took. :)
ETA: I added another picture of the 2 differently shaped breads before I let them rise so that you could compare (ok, I meant admire) the cuteness of the epi shape with its sharp points unblunted by 'someone' letting it over-proof while she baked the braid first. :)