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Cooking
Mom's Christmas Braid
· 8 servings
Option: bread maker
Add all the ingredients, except the almonds, nuts, and raisins, into the bread maker in the order listed. Warm the milk slightly beforehand, and you can also add the butter cut into small pieces. Fine cane sugar works great too.
Choose the program
Select the dough program and let the machine mix and rise the dough. Or use a stand mixer – I go for the dough setting on my Thermomix.
Option: kneading by hand
If using fresh yeast, first prepare a starter with lukewarm milk and a bit of sugar, crumble in the yeast, and wait until bubbles start forming on the surface. If kneading the dough by hand, let it rise for at least an hour.
Braiding
Now it's time to braid. Shape the braid however you're used to, as long as you don't tangle yourself up in the process! I braid mine straight on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the braided dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise for another hour in a warm spot.
Pin with skewers and brush with egg
After the second rise, you can pin the braid with wooden skewers just to be safe – it costs nothing and helps the braid hold its shape beautifully. Some people brush the braid with just egg white, others with yolk, but I use the whole egg. Then I sprinkle it with sliced almonds and pop it straight into the oven.
Baking
Preheat the oven fully – for me that's 240°C. Bake at this high temperature for 5 minutes, then lower it to 170–180°C. Continue baking at this temperature for another half hour. If the top looks like it's browning too much, simply cover it with foil.
Skewer test and serving
You'll know the braid is ready to come out of the oven when a skewer poked into it comes out clean, with no dough sticking to it. And what should you serve alongside your Christmas braid? Warm, sweet hot cocoa.