Thursday 16 October 2008

Celebration Bread

Today 16th is World Baking day. I found out about it when I went to Ivys place Kopiaste so I had this wonderful delicious bread which has been shouting post me post me ;-) so I thought as it was such a delicious bread why not listen to the fellow.
And what a wonderful way to celebrate this day with a celebration bread.


Zorra at the great Kochtopf” is organizing the 3rd World Bread Day, that takes place on October today. Everybody is invited to take part in this event, just few more hours to go , so if you want to post a bread recipe do be fast.

From the time I saw this bread in Gocbep place I fell in love with it. She was kind enoug to trnaslate the recipe. If you want to make this celbration bread, you will find it here.

I used a mixed of dried fruits and walnuts. Didn't had orange essence, so used Vanilla essence.
I was surprised how easy it was to make them.

I gave half of tge bread to my inlaws and they were full of praise for the bread, saying in the bakers you can't get such good quality. So that is good isn't it :-))

Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached bread flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tbsp orange or lemon extract
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk or any kind of milk, at room temperature
1/4 ~1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups dried sweetened cranberries
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or any other nuts
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted1 egg, whisked until frothy, for egg wash

Method:

1) Heat 1/4 cup water to 105°F~115°F (Do not exceed 115° or the yeast will die). Sprinkle active dry yeast on the surface of warm water in a large mixing bowl ( or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Let stand until the yeast is dissolved, about 5 minutes. You will see a froth form on the top it, and you can also smell the yeast.
2) In a separate bowl, stir together flour, sugar, salt.

3) Gradually stir (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) flour mixture into the yeast bowl. Add the orange extract, eggs, buttermilk, and butter. Adding the remaining water, if needed, to make a soft, pliable ball of dough.

4) Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook) for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and only slightly tacky, but not sticky. It should have a soft, pliable quality, not stiff and resistant. If it is too stiff, knead (or mix) in small amount of water until it softens; if the dough seems too sticky, sprinkle in small amounts of flour as needed.

Kneading yeast dough by hand: On a floured counter, fold the dough over toward you, then press it away from you with the floured heel of your hand, then give it a quarter turn, fold it, and press away again.
To test, slowly and gently stretch a small piece of dough, turning it in a a circular motion as you pull so that it stretches evenly. The dough should hole together without tearing until it forms a sheer membrane, thin enough to let light come through.

5) Add the dried cranberries and knead (or mix) for another 2 minutes, or until they are evenly distributed. Then gently knead (or mix) in the walnut pieces until they are evenly distributed. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

6) Ferment at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size. Punch down the dough for degas, fold the edges of dough to the center.

7) Transfer the dough to the counter and divide it into 6 equal pieces for 2 loaves. Roll out each pieces into strands about 9 inches long, thicker in the middle and slightly tapered toward the ends. Place 3 strands side by side and braid as you would hair. Pinch together the tips at both ends to seal the finish loaf. Place braid on a sheet pan lined baking parchment or greased. Continuing with remaining 3 strands.

Or for a celebration bread, you can divide dough into 6 pieces, 3 pieces of 10 oz each and 3 pieces of 4 oz each. Roll out each pieces into 3 equal long strands and 3 equal shorter strands. Braid it as you would hair to make 1 large braid and 1 smaller. Place the large braid on the pan, then lay the smaller braid on top, gently pressing the smaller braid onto the larger to adhere.

8) Brush the loaves with the egg wash and refrigerate the remaining egg wash to be used later. Mist the loaves with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

9) Proof at room temperature for about 90 minutes, or until the dough nearly doubles in size. Brush the loaf a second time with the remaining egg wash.

10) Preheat the oven to 325°F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.

11) Bake for approximately 25 minutes. Rotate the pan 180 degrees for even baking and then continue baking for another 20~25 minutes, or until the loaf is deep golden brown, feel very firm, and sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom. The internal temperature at the center of the loaf should register between 185~190°F.

12) Remove the bread from the pan and transfer it to a cooling rack. Allow the bread to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.

64 comments:

kamala said...

Wow this is awesome...looks so shiny and braid comes out perfect!!!

Rachel said...

Perfectly browned.....Gorgeous bread..

Arundathi said...

that looks fabulous! truly a celebration!

Deborah said...

I wish I would have taken part in this event, because all of this bread looks so good! I love your celebration bread!

Gloria Baker said...

Absolutely nice bread!!! xGloria

Pallavi said...

This is so awesome.. !! Is it a good breakfast option? Does it need to be served warm..?

ST said...

Bread looks sooo perfect and divine...

Cham said...

My fav dry fruits and walnut in bread, just gorgeous bread to celebrate the event!

Rosie said...

Gorgeous bread H.C. I would love a slice of this :)

Happy WBD

Rosie x

Finla said...

Kamala thankyou, i was really pleased with the out come

Rachel thankyou.

Arundathi yeah indeed a celebration

Deborah I only found out about it today and was lucky i had a bread recipe in my draft.

Glori thankyou

Pallavi, no it doesn't has to be served warm. I made in the evening and served it for breakfast with butter

Sireesha thankyou

Cham thankyou. I too love them with dried fruits and nuts

Rosie thankyou

Yasmeen said...

Isn't this bread also called Challah?, I had made mine savory ,with nuts and fruits yours is one beautiful bread:)

Sunshinemom said...

What a shiny happy loaf!!

vandana rajesh said...

yummm...that looks really nice. thks for visiting my website. The chocolate laval cake video is working when I see it. Are u not able to see it. Just give it half a minute and guess u would be able to see the video. would be glad to hear from u as I liked the cake video very much and wanted to share it.

Prema Sundar said...

Nice looking bread.. its surely tempting..

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

looks very colorful with those dried fruits. i want it right now ;)

sunita said...

That bread is indeed fit for a celebration :-)

Sum Raj said...

perfect browned coloured bread..absoutly fabulous..

raaji said...

I loved the bread because u added dry fruits to them.....it sounds just like a fruit cake....so fun to have........

ICook4Fun said...

This bread turn out so beautifully. I always like bread with nuts and any kind of dry fruits in it. I can't wait to try it out.

Laavanya said...

That looks stunning and I love bread with bits of dried fruit.. It's no wonder your inlaws liked it so much :)

VanPham said...

I love your bread textile. It looks chewy and gorgeous.I want to make them again asap :)

Darius T. Williams said...

This looks soo good - can I just say that I'd eat this, even if there wasn't a celebration!

-DTW
www.everydaycookin.blogspot.com

Suganya said...

This is a nice recipe. Looks so good. Turned out perfect for u... YUM!

Unknown said...

the braided bread has come out beautiful..have to try that once..

Lakshmi said...

Perfecto! Happy you made me drool over cake again. Just finished hogging on my sunny's b'day cake :D

Vaishali said...

Lovely, lovely bread, Happy, and that braided look makes it even more special.

KonkaniBlogger said...

Lovely looking bread, so much of the dried fruit bits in there, must be tasting delicious..

jayasree said...

Perfect braid..Love the deep brown crust. Lovely.

Adlak's tiny world said...

awesome bread and the way of presentation is so diffrnt. U have a nice space on web.

Miri said...

Looks absolutely amazing !! Great going!

Raks said...

Lovely bread:) Wish to have some!

Maria♥ said...

Gorgeous bread!!

Maria
x

RecipeGirl said...

So nicely done! I should have paid more attention and made a bread myself!

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow looks awesome. The color of the bread turned out really gr8. Nice entry to the event.

Deepthi Shankar said...

looks fabulous ... good one

Finla said...

Yasmeen yeah it is calle dlike thgat too, but in the blog which i took it was called celebration bread so i used the same name too

Sunshinemom thankyou

Vandana Rajesh after this i will come and check the video

Prema, Mahima and Sunita thankyou

Suma rajesh yeah i was really pleased with the colour

Raaji yeah it is really delicious

icookfor fun do try it, you will really enjoy them

Laavany yeah they loved it, my father in law even asked when i am going to make them again.

Vanpham i loved making them thankx to you, it was really relaxing. I would make them again for sure

Darius me too, i would eat them any time of the day

Sukanya and sowmya thankyou

lg hi hi well one more piece won't hurt ;-)

Vaishali yeah that is true, but i also have seen this wonderful braid in your place :-)

Maya thay were indeed delicious

Jayashree thankyou

Sangeeth said...

Perfect! what more can I say?

sra said...

Gorgeous, remind me of precious stones, that first photo!

Sujatha said...

looks soft and excellent! sounds like a real good celebration :)

Usha said...

Wow,awesome..this bread looks so shiny and perfect :-)

Fitness Foodie said...

This is a fabulous looking bread.

test it comm said...

That bread looks good. I like all of the colours in it.

Pavani said...

ooh! this looks awesome and yummy.
thanks for naming my recipe ..

Saju said...

yum! Tempted to make it now! Thanks for your constant encouragement in my blog.

Cakelaw said...

This looks sooooo good Happy Cook - love that burnished mahogany exterior with the fruity, jeweeled interior.

Yasmeen said...

Happy Cook,I've an award for you in my blog ,please check it out.

Purnima said...

That deep maroon color n gloss is to die for, the aroma must hv been splendid, loved the fruit chips in it as well!

Meg said...

Braided bliss! This looks delightful!

Indian Khana said...

Wow the bread looks so perfect...lovely one

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Your bread looks fabulous, HC. Brown and bursting with flavour. I can see why its called celebratory bread.

Unknown said...

Happy, I'm coming for an afternoon tea!

Swapna said...

Lovely bread!!!

Pavani said...

something waiting for u on my blog
http://fooddamaka.blogspot.com/2008/10/chicken-peking-noodles.html

PG CakeCraft said...

hi, just visited ur wonderful blog.wow! ur celebration bresd looks so perfect & yummy. u must be happy to receive praises fr ur in-laws.

Mandira said...

this looks fabulous, but I have been drooling over the pears... yummy!

Ivy said...

Happy cook, your celebration bread looks great. I love all the ingredients you have put inside and shall make it one day. We make a very similar bread in Greece called tsoureki. I'm giving you the link if you would like to compare the ingredients. The filling was my addition.
http://kopiaste.org/2008/04/tsourekia-with-lemon-marmalade-filling/

Retno Prihadana said...

I love the presentation of your bread, perfect!. Just give me a slice, please :)

zorra said...

The perfect bread to celebrate WBD'08! Thanks for your participation.

Angie's Recipes said...

wow! It looks just festive and delicious!

Anonymous said...

The brown crust looks absolutely stunning!

Unknown said...

Bread looks just perfect..Perfect enty for bread day..

Cakelaw said...

Wonderful bread Happy Cook! This one is bookmarked to make.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

I can certainly see why you wanted to bake this one for world bread day.
Gorgeous and such wonderful flavors!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

I baked your bread (except I forgot the walnuts) for the after hours party. So good!!