Braided Onion French Bread
Last week we shared with y’all our favorite fall soup recipes. But we got to thinking, what goes great with soup? Homemade bread! Shan is sharing her savory onion french bread recipe. Folks, when this thing gets to baking it gives off the best blend of onion and homemade bread.
You can form this into a simple loaf, or do it like we did today and braid it for an extra special presentation. This can be baked inside on a flat baking sheet or in a Dutch oven. When baking in a Dutch oven, we like to keep the round shape, like a Bundt pan, so place the dough along the outside edge and then place a greased and floured measuring cup or tin tan in the middle to help the bread keep it’s shape.
You can bake this in either a 10 or 12-inch Dutch oven. A 12 inch will give more room and won’t get as close to the lid when baking outside.
Make the Dough and Let It Set
So, what are we gonna start with first? Two cups of warm water. Yep, warm. You don’t want it hot cause hot water will kill the yeast. Then, what always kick starts some yeast, some sugar. So let’s put two tablespoons of sugar. And what goes to that – a package of dry yeast. And folks, always remember if you’re cooking with some yeast, proof it first. You know what I’m talking about – put it in a little warm water, stir it up, watch it froth a little.
It’s time for some salt, folks. And it’s just a teaspoon. Then we’re gonna use three teaspoons of olive oil. I’m gonna go ahead and stir this up.
And before I did take a tablespoon of butter, onion and saute them in my little Dutch oven over cause it brings out so much more flavor, folks, when you go ahead and do that instead of just chunking them in there raw. So I’m gonna add them to it.
Well, we’ve got everything incorporated well so let’s get in the all-purpose flour can here. Let’s gently put them in there. You may wanna add a little more cause you wanna get it into a softball and not too sticky. When you got it to a ball there, folks, cover it, set it in a warm spot and let this rise. We want it about double in size.
Knead the Dough Slightly
We’re just gonna flour the surface really well and just dump the dough out. And it may be a little sticky cause that moisture comes out. So then, at this point, give yourself a little more flour over the top, flour your hands and then we’re just gonna knead it slightly to get some of that sticky out.
You can just go ahead and form it into a regular loaf and put it in a flat pan if you’re gonna do it in the oven. Or, the way we’re gonna do it, makes a little jazz, ease it up a little bit. We’re gonna braid it.
Braid the Loaf
We’re gonna pinch off three sections. And then just start pulling and rotating. This is just like people at Auntie Ann’s when they’re making pretzels. And the thing is that it doesn’t have to be pretty at this point cause it’s gonna rise again and it’s gonna bake up, so it’s fine. Just tailor the size to whatever baking apparatus you are doing it in or on.
Bring the three points together and then kinda pinch them and then tuck it under just a little bit. And then you just go to a regular braid. On the other end just go ahead and pinch the side and tuck the ends and then just tuck it over.
Baking Time
So, today, we’re gonna do it in a 10’’ oven. Go ahead and give it a good grease, and easy just put it in there. So, you can see it’s in there like a circle and so we’re gonna let it rise. We could let it rise just like this where it’ll kinda rise together or if you wanna keep this kind of doughnut shape, you can get one of them cup measures. If you got a handle on it, you ain’t losing nothing, just break it off.
Get you a tin can, soup can, whatever you’ve got, but you gotta grease it a little first, cause we’re gonna put some flour on it. We did this before in our Blueberry Morning cake, so you can check it out there.
So, you grease it, you flour it and it’s just a fit. Then we’re gonna cover it and just stick it in the warm place for another 30 to 45 minute to let it rise a little bit again.
Sprinkle some poppy seeds on top.
We’re gonna put a little egg wash on there which is one egg and a tablespoon of cold water. And we’re gonna brush it right gingerly so we don’t make none of that fall. We’re gonna take us poppy seeds, dried minced garlic, dried minced onion, and we’re just gonna give it good sprinkling all the way around it.
It is time to get to cookin’. Check out our video below to see how we manage our heat and coals to get this baked out perfectly. Or you can easily convert this in the house and the conventional oven cooking (below).
Just be sure you get yourself a big ol’ hunk of butter ready to slap on this rascal cause butter is the best on good homemade bread!
Enjoy the French Onion Bread!
Our Homemade Onion Bread in Action, check out our video…
Braided Onion Yeast Bread - Cowboy Kent Rollins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ teaspoons poppy seed
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried minced garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried minced onion
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup fresh minced yellow onion
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 package rapid rise yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 teaspoons olive oil
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for kneading
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the poppy seed, garlic and onion. Set aside.
- Add the butter and onion to a skillet and cook over medium heat until the onions are tender. Set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together the water, yeast and sugar. Let set for a few minutes until it begins to froth up.
- Mix in the salt, olive oil and onion. Slowly stir in the flour until combined. Add more flour if needed, to create a soft dough that isn’t too sticky. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the temperature.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead a few times to lightly coat the outside with flour and remove any stickiness. Form the dough into a loaf, or if braiding, cut into 3 even pieces.
- Roll each piece into a long strand and then braid together. Place on a greased baking sheet, or in a 10 to 12-inch Dutch oven (circle the dough around the oven).
- Cover with a towel and let rise again about 30 – 45 minutes.
- Whisk the egg and water together in a small cup. lightly brush the top of the loaf with the egg mixture. Top with the poppy seed mixture.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for about 40 minutes or until the top is a light golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Serve warm or at room temperature.
