To dress up the top of this bread, I decided to take a tennis–ball sized piece of dough after its first rise, and roll it out to a 12–inch rope. I twisted the rope to make a simple, two–stranded braid, and tucked it next to the rising loaf under an inverted bowl for the bread's second rise.

The timer on top is to let me know when to come and finish the bread. Once the dough was just about risen, I slit it down the center.

I gently took the now–risen braid, and placed it in the newly created canyon.

After that I brushed the whole loaf with egg wash to give it a nice shine, and baked it as per the recipe directions. The result? A very nice top for a delicious bread.