Braided Sheet Bread

Prep Time
2.5 Hours
Cook Time
30 Minutes
Total Time
3 Hours
Yields
9 Large Dinner Roll Sized Portions
Ingredients
  • 200 g x 3 warm oat milk
  • 35 g x 3 sugar
  • 4 g x 3 active dry yeast
  • 18 g x 3 olive oil
  • 300 g x 3 bread flour
  • 3 g x 3 salt
  • Melted butter for brushing

Food coloring optional, used here color powders from Suncore Foods® (not sponsored)

  • Blue: 7 g Blue Butterfly Pea + Pinch of Aqua Blue Spirulina
  • Green: 9 g Matcha
  • Yellow: 10 g Yellow Safflower
Equipment Needed

Stand mixer with dough hook attachment

Instructions
  1. Before preparing dough, note: If using color powders prepare one color dough at a time. If not using color powders combine quantities and prepare one large dough.
  2. Prepare dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm oat milk, sugar and yeast and set aside until the mixture is frothy. Mix in olive oil on low speed for 30 seconds. Mix in bread flour, salt and one color powder on low speed (or at the mixer recommended speed for dough) until the dough comes together and is no longer sticking to the walls of the bowl. Follow the same process for the remaining two color doughs.
  3. 1st proof: Continue working with one color dough at a time. Form a dough ball and place the dough in a clean bowl, cover and proof for 60-90 minutes.
  4. Roll dough: Add parchment paper to a sheet pan and set aside. Punch the air out of each dough and lightly re-knead the doughs for a few seconds. Cut each dough into three portions and form dough ropes with each portion. The length of the dough ropes should be roughly the same as the length of the     sheet pan. You should have three dough ropes per color (total nine). If working without color powders, cut the large dough into three portions, and then cut each portion into three more portions (total nine dough ropes).
  5. Braid dough: Using one dough rope of each color, pinch the top end of the three ropes together, sealing the dough on one end and forming 3 strands. Gently lift the right strand and place in between the middle and left strand. Gently lift the left most strand and place in between the other two strands. Continue this process and braid the strands. Once you reach the end, pinch the three strands together and gently tuck the pinched end under the dough, sealing the braid. Follow the same process for the remaining dough ropes. You should have 3 braided loaves ready for proofing.
  6. 2nd proof: Place the three braided doughs into the sheet pan. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and set aside for 60 minutes.
  7. Bake: Preheat oven to 3750 F, when ready to bake reduce the oven temperature to 3500 F. Brush the dough with melted butter and bake for 30-45 minutes. Oven temperatures vary, when ready, the top of the loaf should be golden-brown and should sound hollow when you tap on it. There should be no soft crust left in the pan.
  8. Cool: Allow the loaf to cool on the pan for 10-15 minutes. Transfer the loaf to a wired rack and allow it to cool to room temperature before serving.