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Fruit and Nut Braid

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This tender loaf, loaded with dried fruit and nuts, makes delicious coffee bread.

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At a glance

Prep
Bake
Total
Yield
one large loaf, about 16 servings

Ingredients

Choose your measure:

  • 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 large eggs + 1 yolk (save the white for the glaze)
  • 3 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (See "tips", below.)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 1/8 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia or lemon oil, or 1 teaspoon Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor
  • 1 1/2 cups dried fruit: any mixture of cranberries, cherries, apricots, raisins, or pineapple
  • 1/2 cup pine nuts or chopped macadamia nuts

Instructions

  1. Heat the butter and the milk together until the butter melts.
  2. Cool to lukewarm, then stir in the 2 whole eggs and one yolk.
  3. Mix in the remaining ingredients, omitting the fruit and nuts, until the dough is homoegneous.
  4. Let rest for 30 minutes, then knead until the dough is smooth and satiny. (Use a bread machine set on the dough cycle, if you like.) Knead in the fruit and nuts at the end.
  5. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 2 hours, or until the dough is puffy in bulk.
  6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface, divide it into three pieces, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
  7. Grease (or line with parchment) a baking sheet, or grease a 10" tube pan.
  8. Roll each piece about 30" long. (If the dough "fights back," let it rest for a few minutes midway through the rolling.)
  9. Braid or simply twist the strands together.
  10. Place the braid on the pan. Pinch the ends together.
  11. Cover and let rise for about an hour, until it's puffy.
  12. While the dough rises, preheat the oven to 350°F.
  13. Whisk the remaining egg white with 1 tablespoon water, and brush it over the risen loaf.
  14. Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, until it's a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven, and after 15 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.
  15. Store well-wrapped for up to 5 days at room temperature or 3 months frozen.