Caraway Seed Plaited Loaf

If you're a big Great British Bake Off fan like I am, you may recall that tricky technical challenge where the bakers had to attempt an eight-stranded plait loaf. Well, here's my version! It may seem tricky but with a bit of concentration it is actually quite simple to perfect. A great baking challenge for you once you've perfected your simple bread making skills.

Recipe - Makes 1 loaf

• 125g wholemeal bread flour
• 225g strong white bread flour
• 7g fast action dried yeast
• 7g salt
• 30ml oil
• 220ml water
• 2 tsp caraway seeds, crushed
• Flour, for dusting

Make the dough by putting the flours in a large mixing bowl and tipping the yeast to one side and salt to the other. Add the caraway seeds, oil then pour in the water slowly, mixing with your hand until the ingredients come together to a slightly sticky dough. Turn out onto a work surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place into an oiled bowl and cover. Leave to rise for 2-3 hours at room temperature.

When risen, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly to knock out the air. Divide into 8 equal sized pieces and roll each out to about 40cm long. Lay all the pieces out next to each other and bring one end in together, pressing them down onto the work top to secure them together. Then, start the plaiting. 

First, you need to number the lengths of dough from 1 to 8, going from left to right. Each time you move a piece of dough you need to re-number them. To start the plait, take 8 under 7 and over 1. Then, complete the following steps, repeating until you run out of dough to plait. Step 1: place 8 over 5. Step 2: place 2 under 3 and over 8. Step 4: place 1 over 4. Step 5: place 7 under 6 and over 1. 

When you've run out of dough to braid, press the ends together tightly then tuck the top and bottoms ends under to make them tidy. Lightly flour a baking tray and lift the plait onto it. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for 1 hour or until the dough refills slowly when pressed gently. Bake at 200C for 20 minutes or until browned and the loaf sounds hollow when the base is tapped. Transfer to a wire rack and leave too cool before cutting.