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To make the dough: Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle.
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Mix until well combined.
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The dough will be sticky but you will be able to form it into a ball.
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Use additional flour for your hands and work surface to keep the dough from sticking.
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To prepare the basket weaving structure: This recipe will make enough dough to yield a basket that is about 10 inches in diameter.
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Use a piece styrofoam as a base.
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I used an 11 by 14-inch rectangular piece, which was about 2 inches thick.
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Using a pen, draw a 9-inch diameter circle in the center of the rectangular styrofoam.
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Insert 21 wooden skewers in a circle following the pen line of the 9-inch diameter circle.
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Space the skewers somewhat evenly apart.
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When inserting the skewers, tilt them slightly outward.
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This will be the outside shape of the basket.
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To make the basket: Roll a piece of dough into a long rope that is at least 20 inches long and about 1/2-inch in diameter.
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Place the end of this rope inside the basket leaving a 1 1/2-inch long tail resting in what will be the interior of the basket.
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Weave the rest of the dough in and out of the skewers.
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This should make one complete layer and may give you enough to continue into the second row.
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When you are coming to the end of your rope (no pun intended) and you need to stop, make sure you leave a tail inside the basket.
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This will help the dough stay in place and avoid any unraveling later on.
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Roll out another dough rope and start the second layer in a different spot than the first one so the starts and ends are staggered throughout the basket.
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This will help develop a stable structure to the basket.
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When you have completed 4 full rows, put it in the oven at 200 degrees F (if the oven temperature is higher, the Styrofoam will melt) for about 30 minutes.
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This is just long enough for the dough to dry slightly and will provide a strong base for the weight of additional layers.
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Remove from the oven and let cool.
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Repeat the same process adding another 4 layers to the basket.
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Put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
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Remove from the oven and let cool.
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To make the decorative braids for the top rim of the basket: Using 3 ropes of raw dough approximately 28 inches long, weave the dough ropes into a long braid.
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Place the braid on the top rim of the basket, gently pressing it down to make it secure.
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This is now the final row on the basket.
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To make the bottom of the basket: Make a long rope of dough approximately 1/2-inch in diameter.
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Tightly coil it starting at the center of the inside of the basket.
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This will be the bottom of the basket.
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If the rope you made is not long enough, you can roll out another rope and connect the 2 ropes by squeezing it securely to the end of the already coiled rope.
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Make the coil disk slightly bigger than the base and push the coil into place so it fits snugly.
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To make the handles for the basket: I used a 1/4-inch thick wooden dowel as a base and wrapped a long rope of raw dough, by spiraling around the dowel from top to bottom.
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I used 3 pieces of dowel to give my basket handle an artistic shape.
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The length of the dowels depends on 2 things.
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How tall the side of your basket is and what you want the handles to look like.
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Cut dowels to desired size.
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Lay the raw dough wrapped dowels on the baking sheet and bake along with the rest of the basket.
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The handles will be attached after all the parts have been baked.
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Place the entire basket and the handles in the oven for the final time.
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I put mine in the oven for about 1 hour, then turned off the heat and left it in the oven overnight.
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Remove the basket from the oven (it should be cool or room temperature for final assembly).
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Make the caramel for painting the basket: Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and place over medium-high heat.
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Stir only until it is combined.
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Let the caramel cook until it burns.
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You will see white smoke and the caramel will be very dark.
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Remove from the heat.
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Add a little water and stir.
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You will need to keep adding small amounts of water until the caramel is a consistency liquid enough to use as paint.
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Use a pastry brush to apply the caramel to the basket and the handle.
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Allow it to dry completely before filling the basket with your pastries.
