YEAST BRAID .. A SUNDAY WELL SPENT

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . First you need to prepare your dough . Place 500gm of plain flour into a bowl, form a well in the middle and drop in 2 and 1/2 tsp of dried yeast with 125ml of lukewarm milk and 1 tsp of sugar . Mix from the edge of your bowl to form a starter dough . Cover and allow to rise in a warm spot ( draught free ) for 20 minutes . Now add another 125 ml of warm milk ,100gm of sugar , 125 gm of softened butter / marg , the grated rind of 1 lemon , 1 well beaten egg with a pinch of salt and knead to a smooth dough. Cover and allow to rise again in a warm ( non draught ) spot for 30 minutes . It was at this point I went out to fertilise my cymbidium orchids which are in bud along with all the other orchid species I have . Okay , once I'm back in the kitcken, I placed the dough on a lightly floured work bench and divided it into 3 . Shape each piece of dough into a long roll . Plait the 3 rolls to form a braid . Fold the ends under . Place the braid on a baking paper lined oven tray and brush with 1 egg yolk , well beaten and sprinkle with a couple of crushed sugar cubes . Set the braid aside and let rise for 20 minutes . Bake on the middle rack of your preheated oven for 45 minutes . Remove from oven and allow to cool ... I love this with butter / marg . What's better than a Sunday spent between the garden and the kitchen ?