Rich Egg Bread

I have been wanting to bake bread since we moved here. With a loaf being $5 at the grocery store, it just seems more economical. I have a fear of yeast, however, so I haven't done much bread baking to date. I purchased a massive amount of yeast at Sam's Club, so I figured I needed to suck it up and try baking with yeast. This bread sounded easy enough and had a pretty braid in my Betty Crocker cookbook. I am pleased to announce that I have made this bread twice in two days. It is good and actually rose the way it was supposed to!

Forming the dough ball. I LOVE my KitchenAid mixer. I don't think I can stress enough how happy this machine makes me on a daily basis.

My attempt at braiding. I haven't had to braid in such a long time. It turned out pretty well.

The loaf rose and baked up nicely. It is a pretty dense bread and has a really nice flavor. I made French toast with it this morning and it was tasty! Overcome your fears of yeast and try out this loaf!

Rich Egg Bread (From Betty Crocker Cookbook, 2006)
3 to 3 1/4 cups all purpose or bread flour (I needed 3 1/4 and then some)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 package regular or quick active dry yeast
1 cup very warm water (120-130 F)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large egg

Mix 1 1/2 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute, scraping the bowl. Bean on medium speed 1 minute, scraping the bowl. Add egg and beat until smooth. Stir in remaining flour until the dough is easy to handle.

Knead dough for about 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease a large bowl and place dough in to rise. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for roughly an hour until it doubles in size. If you poke the dough and an indentation remains, it's ready to go.

Lightly grease a cookie sheet. After punching the dough to let out the air, divide the dough into 3 parts. Roll each into 14 inch ropes (I did this like how you make a snake with Play Dough). Braid the ropes gently, starting in the center. Pinch and tuck the ends. Brush the dough with vegetable oil (I just sprayed it with Pam). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 40 to 50 minutes, until it doubles in size.

Heat the oven to 375 and bake the bread for 25-30 minutes (It took mine 3o minutes). It will be a pretty golden brown when done.