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Eight Strand Plaited Loaf

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I decided to try making an Eight Strand Plaited Loaf after watching bread week on The Great British Bake Off. It's a basic bread dough, but shaped in a complex way, with an very impressive result! This Eight Strand Plaited Loaf is a great way to mix up your bread baking repertoire and have your friends and family wondering how you did it!

How to make an Eight Strand Plaited Loaf...

To start, I put strong white bread flour in a bowl. I added salt and fast action dried yeast, making sure to keep them on separate sides of the bowl.

Then I added olive oil and water and mixed it together to form a dough.

I kneaded the dough for 10 minutes, then placed it into an oiled bowl and left it to rise for 1 hour.

I knocked the dough back, then divided it out into eight pieces.

I rolled each piece into a long strand approximately 40cm/16" long.

Then I laid all of the strands out and attached them at the top. Then I followed the plaiting sequence:

Step 1: place 8 under 7 and over 1
Step 2: place 8 over 5
Step 3: place 2 under 3 and over 8
Step 4: place 1 over 4
Step 5: place 7 under 6 and over 1
Repeats step 2-5, until all the dough is plaited
It wasn't tricky to follow the plaiting sequence, the thing I found the most difficult was making the plait look neat. I chopped off any strands that were too long once the plaiting was done and tucked the end under to neaten it up as much as I could. Once I was finished I put it onto a lined baking tray, covered it loosely with cling film and left it to prove again for 1 hour.
I glazed the bread with beaten egg using a silicone brush.
It baked it on 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 for 25 minutes until it was golden and sounded hollow when I tapped the bottom.
Eight Strand Plaited Loaf
I thought the Eight Strand Plaited Loaf looked really impressive, I loved the golden crispy crust and soft middle. I was very pleased with it for a first effort!
Eight Strand Plaited Loaf
The Eight Strand Plaited Loaf has a fantastic appearance and it was fun to make a plaited loaf and try the technique out. I enjoyed slices with butter and my boyfriend relished it dipping chunks of it in some soup.

Recommended equipment & ingredients*

Baking trays Mixing bowls Cooling rack
Kitchen scales Fast action yeast Metal dough scraper

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Eight Strand Plaited Loaf

Print Pin Rate
Course: Snack
Cuisine: British
Keyword: Bread
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 10

Ingredients

  • 500 g Strong White Bread Flour
  • 340 ml Water
  • 1 ½ tbsp Olive oil
  • 7 g sachet Fast action dried yeast
  • 10 g Salt
  • 1 Egg

Instructions

  • Put the strong white bread flour in a bowl. Add the salt and yeast on separate sides of the bowl. Mix together
  • Add 1 ½ tbsp olive oil and 340ml water and mix in
  • Knead the dough for 10 minutes, then place it into an oiled bowl and leave to rise for 1 hour
  • Knock it back then divide it into eight equal pieces
  • Roll each piece into a long strand approximately 40cm/16" long
  • Lay all of the strands out and attach them at the top. Then follow the plaiting sequence:
    Step 1: place 8 under 7 and over 1
    Step 2: place 8 over 5
    Step 3: place 2 under 3 and over 8
    Step 4: place 1 over 4
    Step 5: place 7 under 6 and over 1
    Repeats step 2-5, until all the dough is plaited
  • Chop off any strands that are too long and tuck the end under to neaten it up. Put it onto a lined baking tray, cover it loosely with cling film and leave it to prove again for 1 hour
  • Glaze the bread with 1 beaten egg
  • Bake it on 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 for 25 minutes until it is golden and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom
Made this recipe?Share on Instagram with me @TheBakingExplorer or tag #thebakingexplorer!

Recipe from Paul Hollywood.

If you like this, check out more of my Bread recipes!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jenny

    Your loaf looks so shiny and beautiful - the plait is so well made too. I bet it smelt and tasted amazing!
    ps. i also laughed at the wearing loafers gag!
    Thank you for linking up xx

    Reply

    • Kat BakingExplorer

      Thanks Jenny! You just can't help but giggle at Mel and Sue 🙂

      Reply

  2. Johanna GGG

    Very impressive - it is great that shows like this get such amazing baking done in our homes - makes me want to experiment more with bread baking - off I go to try and motivate myself 🙂

    Reply

    • Kat BakingExplorer

      I agree, if it wasn't for Bake Off I wouldn't have experimented half as much as I have with my baking, it really does motivate me

      Reply

  3. Lucy Allen

    What a gorgeous loaf Kat, the plaiting is wonderful! Also impressed that that was made with 500 g flour, mine was too and it was difficult to get all the strands long enough even when I weighed them!

    Reply

    • Kat BakingExplorer

      Thank you! I wasn't that confident about my plaiting so that'd great to hear. Yes the strands were tricky, some of mine ended up longer and shorter as I plaited.

      Reply

  4. Anca

    Looks really good, the plaiting is stunning. Well done.

    Reply

    • Kat BakingExplorer

      Thank you so much!

      Reply

  5. Kate Glutenfreealchemist

    Well impressed! I wouldn't have a clue how to make an eight=strand plait..... And the texture of the loaf looks perfect! Well done xx

    Reply

    • Kat BakingExplorer

      I didn't either, luckily I had Paul's instructions! Thank you, bread always makes me nervous!

      Reply

  6. Amanda

    I think it looks gorgeous! x

    Reply

    • Kat BakingExplorer

      Thank you 🙂

      Reply

  7. Natalie Gardner

    This is so impressive and the plaiting looks perfect. There is nothing quite as beautiful as the aroma of the freshly baked bread.

    Reply

    • Kat BakingExplorer

      You are so kind, thank you!

      Reply

  8. Angela Campos

    This looks amazing! I love how you posted each step with pictures. I think I may give this a try 🙂

    Reply

    • Kat BakingExplorer

      Thank you! I always find it helpful to show the stages, they do say a picture says a thousand words!

      Reply

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