I was about 10 years old when I first made homemade bread and I absolutely loved it. Did it take forever? Yes and still kind of does but well worth the wait.  This Braided Bread recipe is simple and the hardest part is waiting for it to rise, the bread looks amazing, smells incredible, and will having people always asking for more.

With the holidays and cold weather (at least where I’m at) bread is a great snack to have or serve at any get together with friends and family.  This recipe is great for a variety of bread recipes like soup bowls, scones, rolls, bread sticks, sweet rolls, cinnamon rolls, and pizza crust.

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup shortening
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 cups milk (warm)
• 3 tablespoons yeast
• 9 cups flour

Directions:

1. Take the first four ingredients and mix them together, make sure your milk is warm and not hot, if it is too hot it will kill the yeast.
2. Sprinkle yeast on top of mixture and let sit for a minute. Stir.
3. Add 3 cups flour and stir.
4. Add 3 cups flour and beat until smooth.
5. Add remaining 3 cups flour and knead until smooth, not sticky. I usually keep mine in the mixer with the bread attachment for this part then knead a little bit more flour after for a few minutes.
6. Place in greased bowl and let rise until double in size (about an hour).
7. Divide into thirds, then divide those thirds into thirds again.
8. Roll each section into a snake, not too thin and even in length.
9. Pinch one side of the ends together and start carefully braiding down pinching the ends together at the end.
10. Place on greased pan and let rise until double in size (about an hour).
11. Bake 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
12. This recipe is also great for scones, bread sticks, sweet rolls, bread bowls, and pizza crust.
13. Makes 3 loaves.

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