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1
Put the flour into a large bowl and add the salt to one side of the flour, the yeast on the opposite side, and the butter (chopped into chunks) into the middle.
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2
Pour in three quarters of your warm milk into the flour and work it into a rough dough, adding the rest of the milk as needed.
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3
Make sure you work the butter through the dough.
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4
Tip your rough dough onto a clean surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough has formed a smooth skin and is pliable enough that you can stretch it out thinly enough to see light through it without the dough tearing (the window pane effect)
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5
Rinse out your original bowl and then lightly oil the inside of the bowl and put your dough inside to rise.
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6
Place a damp cloth over the bowl to stop a skin from forming on the dough.
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7
Once the dough has risen to double the original size (this will take at least an hour) divide your dough in half and then roll into two long strands.
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8
Cross the strands over each other to make a + shape, then braid the dough by folding each strand over.
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9
e.g.
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10
If your North/South strand is the base, fold the ends over so South now points North and vice versa, then do the same for your East/West strand.
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11
As you do this, the braid will form and you can eventually tuck the ends together.
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12
Put your braided loaf onto a lined baking tray and place inside a plastic bag to prove for another hour.
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13
Meanwhile, remember to preheat your oven to 200 Celsius
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14
When the dough has doubled in size, crack your egg into a small bowl or mug, lightly whisk and then brush over the outside of the bread.
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15
Bake at 200 for ~ 30 minutes or until the crust is a deep golden brown.
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16
The egg will make it brown more quickly, so I don't use the top element in the oven when baking this bread.
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17
Cool the bread on a wire rack, and then enjoy!
