Golden Egg Loaves (or Braids)

Name: Golden Egg Loaves (or Braids)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 24 servings
Cuisine: Jewish, American
Ingredients: 1.5 tbsp Active Dry Yeast; 6 cups Bread Flour; 2 tbsp Butter; 4 whole Eggs; 6 tbsp Honey; 0.25 cup Olive Oil; 1 tbsp Salt; 3 tbsp Vital Wheat Gluten; 1.5 cups Water

Breakfast 🍳Side Dish 🥗Dinner 🍽️Lunch 🥪Snack 🍿 Jewish 🇮🇱American Low-Sodium Vegetarian 🥦Halal 🕌Pescatarian 🐟

Golden Egg Loaves (or Braids) bake up with a tender, enriched crumb and a glossy, deeply colored crust. Slightly sweet from honey and rich with eggs and butter, the bread slices beautifully for sandwiches and shines in French toast or bread pudding. Ideal for brunch or a special lunch spread.

Prep20 mins
Cook25 mins
Serves24
DifficultyMedium

1

In a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water, honey, and yeast. Let the mixture sit until it becomes foamy, about 10 minutes.
2

Add 3 cups flour, olive oil, eggs, wheat gluten, and butter to the yeast mixture; mix on speed 2 (or low speed) in the stand mixer until the flour mixture is incorporated, 2 to 3 minutes.
3

Add the salt and 3 cups flour and mix on speed 2 until the flour is incorporated into the dough.
4

If the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl, continue mixing, 5 to 7 minutes.
5

If the dough is still sticky, add 1/4 cup flour at a time and knead for 2 minutes after each addition until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl; mix for 5 to 7 minutes.
6

Grease a large bowl.
7

Move the dough to the greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Set aside in a warm spot in the kitchen until the dough has doubled in size, 60 to 90 minutes.
8

Punch down the dough and divide it into 2 loaves.
9

Place each half of the dough into a 9x5-inch loaf pan or on a baking sheet. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
10

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
11

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer reads an internal temperature of 200 degrees F (93 degrees C), 25 to 30 minutes.