Eggless Braided Date Bread
Its been raining all day today,yet it wasn’t the damp depressing rain,there was a gentleness in the rain drops that fell & the fall colors on the leaves gave the weekend a warm cozy feeling, added to it was the chirpy voices of my little one & his friends.Weekends are meant to be relaxing and baking this bread was therapeutic in a way,somehow the baking bug seemed to have caught me today.
“Zopf ” translates to braid and that is what this bread is all about, I decided to make it more fun by adding dates with cinnamon powder just to enhance the flavor & simply to try out a new form of braiding bread, which I have never done before.Baked into every loaf is the love & warmth of a family tradition , I wanted my child to remember growing up.Every Fall, I remember smelling the delicious aroma of cinnamon, honey,apples & spices in the air around the neighborhood , never really knowing anything about baking, this year I decided to give it a try, so here it is the braided date bread for you to try baking at home.Enjoy.
Ingredients
3 1/2 cups 3 1/2 All purpose flour
2 tsp 2 Dry yeast
1/4 cup 1/4 Brown sugar
1/2 tsp 1/2 Salt
3/4 cup 3/4 Warm Milk
1/4 cup 1/4 Warm water
1/4 cup 1/4 Softened butter
a pinch Cardamom powder- ( optional)
- For the filling:
15 15 -20 Dates-( soak in a tbsp of warm milk)- made into a fine paste
1/4 tsp 1/4 Cinnamon powder
2 tbsp 2 Butter
Directions
- Mix all the dry ingredients together first & then gently add the warm milk & water mix.
- Add in the butter to this mix & knead well.Keep the dough in a bowl, covered with wet cloth in a warm corner of the kitchen.
- Next go on to blend the soaked dates along with the cinnamon powder & butter into a fine paste.Keep aside.
- Now after about half an hour , you’d notice the dough rise,then roll it out in small rectangles.
- Then spread the date paste on to the rolled dough , making sure you leave an inch of the dough around the borders.
- Now roll the dough from the long side into a tube form & pinch the side seam closed.
- Now cut the dough tube in half,through the middle down the length of the dough tube.
- Place the half sides with the open end facing the top & quickly braid them together.
- Transfer them gently into a parchment lined baking sheet into a preheated oven ( 350 degrees for 10 minutes)
- Bake the bread for 15- 20 minutes until you see the fluffy brown bread rise .
- Transfer the baking tray to the broiler for a few minutes to brown the top.
- Serve it warm to your loved ones.Makes a good evening snack for the kids.
Notes
- The fluffy bread combined with the sweet & spicy taste of dates & cinnamon is a sure treat on a rainy Fall day