Braided Sweet Milk Bread
If you’re looking for a soft, fluffy homemade bread that’s lightly sweet and beautifully golden, this Braided Sweet Milk Bread is the perfect recipe. It has a tender crumb, a delicate sweetness, and is delicious served warm with butter, jam, or honey.
It’s also wonderful for making French toast or bread pudding the next day.
Don’t let the sticky dough worry you. This is a rich, enriched dough, and its soft texture is exactly what gives the bread its light, airy crumb after baking. With a little patience and the right kneading technique, you’ll be rewarded with a beautiful braided loaf that’s just as enjoyable to make as it is to eat.
Whether you’re baking it for breakfast, afternoon tea, or a special family meal, this bread is guaranteed to become a favorite.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Soft, fluffy, and lightly sweet.
- Beautiful braided loaf.
- Perfect with butter, jam, or honey.
- Great for French toast and bread pudding.
- Freezes well.
While Testing This Recipe
These tips helped me get the best results:
- The dough is naturally sticky at first. Resist adding extra flour, as it can make the bread dense.
- Use room-temperature eggs so the warm milk doesn’t cool down too much.
- If kneading by hand, scrape the dough off your hands every now and then and keep kneading. It becomes easier after a few minutes.
- Gently lifting and slapping the dough against the work surface helps strengthen the gluten and makes the dough smoother.
- Let the dough rise until doubled in size before shaping the braids.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the dough so sticky?
This is a rich dough with plenty of moisture. As you knead, it becomes smoother and easier to handle without needing much extra flour.
Can I make this without braiding?
Yes. Shape it into a loaf or rolls if you prefer.
Can I freeze it?
Yes. Freeze the baked loaf for up to 2 months.
What can I make with leftover bread?
This bread is perfect for French toast, bread pudding, or homemade sandwiches.
Sweet Braided Milk Bread
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon active yeast
- 3 tablespoon sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted melted butter
- 6 tablespoon warm milk
Egg Wash
- 1 egg yolk mixed with two tablespoon milk.
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the milk, yeast, and sugar whisk well until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the rest of ingredients and knead for two minutes. The dough will be very sticky at this point but knead for two minutes and it will get a little firmer yet still sticky.
- Grab the dough and bash it on your working surface, do this until the dough gets firmer, might take three minutes. (no need to add more flour to the working surface.)
- In an oiled bowl, place the dough and cover it to double in size, will take an hour.
- Punch the dough but do not knead it again. Cut the dough in half, then cut each half into half.
- Roll two halves into a long log, around 15 to 16 inch. Make a cross shape from the two halves, hold the bottom log from two ends and overlap, now do this to the top log, continue doing so and you will see that the braid is created. Tuck the ends under the braid. Do this with the remaining two halves.
- Cover and let it rise again for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- Brush the braids with the egg wash and sprinkle sesame seed, nigella seeds, or poppy seed on top. Bake for 14 minutes.
- Place on cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- The dough is naturally sticky at first. Resist adding extra flour, as it can make the bread dense.
- Use room-temperature eggs so the warm milk doesn’t cool down too much.
- If kneading by hand, scrape the dough off your hands every now and then and keep kneading. It becomes easier after a few minutes.
- Gently lifting and slapping the dough against the work surface helps strengthen the gluten and makes the dough smoother.
- Let the dough rise until doubled in size before shaping the braids.
Nutrition
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o…that’s bakery perfect, Muna.
You’re so sweet Angie 🙂 it was so delicious and light too!
I love braided breads!! This one is a beauty!!!
Thanks Liz, it was so light almost melts in your mouth!
1.Any substitute for egg?
2.if using instant dry yeast, what would the qyt.
Hi Vandana! This is a rich bread if you add more milk and omit the egg the texture will be a little different. However, you can omit the egg and add more water or milk.
The yeast measurement should stay the same despite the type of yeast you are using. Hope this was helpful 🙂
Braided bread! This is perfect, Muna. And thanks for the tips again! It really helps a lot!
Your compliments toward my cooking and baking always mean a lot to me, thank you 😀
I love making bread! In fact, I just finished making a batch of dinner rolls for tonight. Yum! I love the look of this bread, and I can’t wait to try it out soon. 🙂
Wow! That will be an honor 🙂 if you ever give this recipe a try, please let me know.