Recipe

Olive And Roasted Pine Nut, Sundried Tomato And Rosemary, Basil, Black Pepper, And Parmesan Cheese Bread Braid

Ingredients

Combine the yeast, oil and sugar together in the mixing bowl of an electric mixer. Whisk the warm water into the yeast mixture to dissolve. Add the flavoring ingredients to the liquid mixture. Add the flour and salt. Using a dough hook on low speed, mix the ingredients until moistened. Change the speed to medium and mix until the dough forms a ball and starts to climb the dough hook.
Turn the dough into a greased bowl and cover. Let rise for about an hour or until double in size. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and punch down. Shape the dough into a ball. Roll the ball into an evenly thick rope about 2 inches. To braid the bread, line up the three ropes, 1-inch apart, on a greased baking sheet, dusted with cornmeal. Starting in the middle, braid by bringing the left rope underneath the center rope and laying it down. Then bring the right rope under the new center rope and lay it down. Repeat until the bread is fully braided. Tuck the ends underneath to seal the braid. Let the braid rise in a warm draft free place until double in size, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush the braid with olive oil and slice.