Great British Bake Off: The Beginning | Episode 2 | Technical : 8 Strand Plaited Loaf
This is Paul Hollywood's recipe which I got from BBC.
It could have gone better. It could have gone worse. It looked like bread, it tasted like bread, and not a crumb went uneaten so I'm calling it a win.
On The Great British Baking Show: The Beginning, bakers were tasked with making Paul Hollywood's 8 strand plaited loaf as their technical challenge in the second episode. This was my first time ever making bread (other than making dessert breads that don't require yeast.) Bread is very satisfying to make because you take just a few ingredients, work them and rest them like crazy, and the finished product is delicious and looks like something you could buy at the store.
I used a dough hook to knead my dough this time around since it was my first time making bread. I think that it could have used a bit more work.
After the dough proved and was knocked back, it was time to divide and roll.
My biggest issue with this entire thing was the stage of rolling out even strands before plaiting. I couldn't seem to get the strands to look uniform, though they all weighed the same. The dough was separating after working it too much so I just stretched them out as much as I could. I pinned them at the top in a sloppy manor which made one of the end look a bit of a mess when all was said and done.
Plaited and ready for the second rise then into the oven.
The end product was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I think it could have used more kneading or rise but it tasted delicious and didn't look too bad either.
Ingredients
Directions
Place the flour in a large bowl. Add the yeast on one side of the bowl and add the salt on the other side. Salt should not be placed on top of the yeast, as it can kill it and make in in-active. Stir the ingredients together until evenly mixed.
Add a good splash of olive oil. Measure out 340ml/12fl oz water and add three-quarters to the flour mixture, and mix together by hand, then add the rest of the liquid.
Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead by hand until the dough looks silky and stretchy. This will take approximately 10 minutes. (I used a dough hook and beat between low and medium for about 7 minutes. I recommend doing it by hand or kneading on medium for more time.)
Oil a medium sized mixing bowl and place the dough into the bowl. Cover with cling film and set aside to rise, for about an hour, or until the dough doubles in size.
When risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead, to knock the dough back. Shape the dough into a ball.
Divide the dough into eight equal pieces then roll out each piece into a strand about 40cm/16in long.
Lay the strands out on the lightly floured surface like an octopus, fanned out from a central point at the top. Stick all the ends at the central point to the table with your thumb.
For the following braiding sequence, number the strands of dough from 1-8 from left to right. Every time you move any strand it will take the new number of its position in the row. Step 1: place 8 under 7 and over 1 Step 2: place 8 over 5 Step 3: place 2 under 3 and over 8 Step 4: place 1 over 4 Step 5: place 7 under 6 and over 1 Repeats step 2-5, until all the dough is braided.
Tuck both ends of the loaf underneath to give a tidy finish.
Place the plaited dough onto a floured baking tray (use parchment paper if you want to be extra careful), and leave to prove for another hour, until risen again.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Brush the loaf with the beaten egg wash and bake in the oven for 20-25mins. (Mine took closer to 30 minutes before I felt like it was ready to come out.)
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