Ukrainian Korovai, Braided Festive Bread

What you need

• 750 g (6 cups) wheat flour, plus extra for dusting
• 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) milk, warmed; 1 tbsp kept for the glaze
• 200 g (7 oz) butter, soft
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg yolk, for the glaze
• 40 g (3 tbsp) sugar
• 30 g (1 1/2 tbsp) honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 10 g (1 tbsp) active dry yeast

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Warm 150 ml of the milk to 37 °C (99 °F). Whisk in the yeast, 1 tbsp of the sugar and 40 g of the flour. Cover and leave 40-45 min, until foamy and doubled.

2. 2

   Warm the rest of the milk (keep back 1 tbsp) with the butter, salt, honey and remaining sugar until the butter melts. Cool to 37 °C (99 °F).

3. 3

   Beat the eggs lightly and stir them into the foamy starter.

4. 4

   Add about 250 g of the flour, then the butter mixture, then the rest of the flour.

5. 5

   The dough is very sticky at this point. Knead by hand for at least 20 min, without adding extra flour, until it is smooth, elastic and leaves the bowl.

6. 6

   Cover with a cloth and rise in a warm spot for 1 1/2 hours. Press it down gently after 40 min. It should about triple in size.

7. 7

   Cut off one-third of the dough for decoration. Shape the larger piece into a smooth round and set it on a parchment-lined tray dusted with flour.

8. 8

   Halve the small piece. Braid one half into a plait and lay it loosely around the base of the loaf.

9. 9

   Make a small plait from part of the other half and shape it into a ring on top. Fill the ring with a ball of foil so a hollow stays for the salt cellar.

10. 10

    Shape the remaining dough into ears of wheat or flowers and press them onto the loaf.

11. 11

    Mix the yolk with the reserved milk and brush all over the loaf. Let it rest 30 min while the oven heats to 200 °C (400 °F).

12. 12

    Bake for 20 min, then lower the heat to 175 °C (350 °F) and bake 40 min more, until deep golden. Tent with foil if it browns too fast.

13. 13

    Cool on a rack and remove the foil ball. Serve in thick slices.

Imported from fine-cooking.ru. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.