Yeast Breads

1. Place flour in a large bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk water and honey until honey is dissolved, then sprinkle yeast over top; let sit until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.

2. Whisk two eggs and the oil into yeast mixture, then stir into flour until a rough, sticky dough forms. Cover and let sit 10 minutes.

3. Stir salt into dough until incorporated. (This will take a bit of work as dough will be very thick.) Cover and let rise until almost doubled in size, 2 to 3 hours.

4. Lightly coat work surface with flour. Use spatula to loosen dough from sides of bowl, then gently tip onto counter. Sprinkle dough lightly with flour and divide into three equal pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, pat into a rough 4x8" rectangle, then fold long sides to meet each other and pinch together to seal. Flip dough seam side down on counter, then roll into a 15"-long rope.

5. Place ropes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and pinch one set of ends together. Loosely braid dough, then pinch remaining ends together and tuck both ends under loaf. Cover loosely with plastic and let rise until puffed but not quite doubled in size, about 1 hour.

6. Center a rack in oven and heat to 375 degrees. Beat remaining egg in a small bowl and gently brush all over loaf. Sprinkle seeds over top, then bake until golden brown and center registers 190 degrees, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before slicing.

Source: Hannaford fresh Magazine, September 2021