One of the most anticipated dishes on the Easter table is the braided bread. Let it be delicious, soft, and fluffy – and in our case, all of this gluten-free. A big challenge, but not impossible!
To maximize the expected “braided bread-ness,” we added a little twist—exactly 100 grams of tapioca to the recipe. This small extra starch is just enough to enhance the festive braided bread experience, while the flour still remains slow-absorbing.
Ingredients
- 250 g MIMOOSA Simple White Bread Flour
- 100 g tapioca starch
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- Zest of 1 untreated lemon
- 1 packet vanilla sugar
- 1 packet dry yeast
- 100 g melted butter or plant-based butter substitute
- 2 beaten eggs
- 250 ml lukewarm milk, milk substitute, or water
Mix the flour, sugar, and yeast with the grated lemon zest. Melt the butter, add the beaten eggs and the milk/water, then pour this mixture over the dry ingredients. Stir the mass with a spoon for 1–2 minutes, until it comes together into a soft but shape-holding dough.
Turn it out onto a rice-floured surface and dust the top with rice flour as well. Knead it slightly with your hands, then divide it in half; if it’s sticky, feel free to use more rice flour. Divide one dough ball into 3 more parts, roll them into cylinders about 20 cm long, and braid them into a three-strand braid to form the base of your braided bread. Carefully place the braid into a buttered and rice-floured loaf tin. From the other half of the dough, you can make another braided bread like this, or even brioche rolls. For the latter, roll thinner dough cylinders and simply twist them into a spiral shape.
Once ready, place the dough in a 50°C oven, where it will rise in about 40–45 minutes. Increase the temperature to 170°C without removing the tray from the oven. Bake the braided breads for about 45–50 minutes, covering them with baking paper after 30 minutes to prevent the crust from overbaking. If you’re also baking brioche rolls, take them out of the oven when you cover the braided bread, as the small spiral buns will already be done by then.
When it’s ready, be sure to let it cool, otherwise the dough will get squished when slicing.
This is a mildly sweet braided bread with a very pleasant flavor. If you prefer a sweeter version, simply double the amount of sugar given.
And if by some miracle there are leftovers for the next day, you can be sure it will be just as great as it was fresh.
Enjoy your meal!