Plaited bread and Hulubași

Dough:

– 500 g wheat flour

– 2 tablespoons sugar

– 1 teaspoon salt

– 100 ml oil

Starter (Maia):

– 200 ml lukewarm milk

– 100 ml water

– 1 tablespoon sugar

– 20 mg yeast

– 5 tablespoons wheat flour

Egg Mixture for Coating:

– 1 whole egg

– 1 packet of vanilla sugar

Combine all the ingredients for the starter and sprinkle a little wheat flour over them. Let it rest for about 15 minutes.

In a separate bowl, sift the wheat flour, add the salt, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the starter you prepared. Mix everything and knead it by hand until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Add the oil (or melted butter) to the dough while kneading.

Let the dough rest for about 25 minutes. After it has risen, knead it a bit more and start shaping it into a wreath.

Cut and shape 6 pieces of dough into baguette-like forms. For five of them, braid them together as follows: connect five baguettes, grouping two on the left side and three on the right side. Take the outermost left baguette and cross it over the other two, placing it inside on the right side. Then, from the right side, take the outermost baguette, cross it over the other two, and place it inside next to the left side baguettes. Braid it loosely to allow the dough to rise. Finally, connect the ends of the braid to form a wreath shape. Roll the remaining piece of dough around the wreath.

Place the formed dough in a round, well-greased tray, and let it rise for about 10 minutes. Coat the surface of the wreath with the egg mixture made from one whole egg and a packet of vanilla sugar.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit) and bake for 30 minutes.

Dishes