Guyanese Plait Bread Recipe
As I’ve mentioned before, my family is from a little country in South America called Guyana. Guyana is populated with all types of people with all different cultures. You can really see that diversity in their cuisine. One thing that any Guyanese person loves is Plait Bread. It’s a yeast based bread that has a bit of sweetness to it but is great with savory dishes. When I was growing up, we ate it for breakfast. Most of my family and friends also eat it with soups and stews. I LOVE plait bread. I love it so much that I could basically eat a whole loaf in one sitting (even though I probably shouldn’t) 😉
I have a local bakery that makes Guyanese pastries and Kenny and I frequently visit it to stock up on bread for the week. One day, I decided that I could make plait bread on my own and that I didn’t need to go to the bakery. I mean, the bakery does charge $4 for a loaf and I felt like with us trying to save money, I could make mine cheaper. Plus, it would always be super fresh! So, I set out to find the perfect recipe. I polled my mom for advice and dug through old cook books. After countless trials, I came up with this recipe that I think is perfect. It tastes just like the one at the bakery, if not better.
I hope you enjoy this little, delicious piece of my culture! If you try the recipe, I’d love to know how it turns out! You can leave me a comment or even post a picture to my Facebook page!
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tbsp of water
- In a large bowl, dissolve sugar into warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top and allow to bloom for about 8-10 minutes (You will see it become foamy)
- After the yeast has bloomed, add your flour, salt, and 1/2 of the melted butter to the yeast. Mix until the dough starts to come together (You can do this in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment)
- When the dough comes together, it will be slightly sticky. Add another tbsp of flour and knead the dough for about 3 minutes.
- Place a tea towel over the bowl and place it in a warm, dry, place to rise for an hour.
- Punch the dough down a bit and remove the dough from the bowl. Place onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for another 3 minutes.
- Cut a tiny piece off of the dough and roll into a long, thin, log. Set aside.
- Cut the remainder of the dough into 3 even pieces and roll each one into a log (about 8 inches long)
- Line the logs up vertically.
- Pinch the tops together so that the dough is joined at the top
- Braid your dough and pinch the bottoms to keep the loaf together.
- Place the long, thin strip of dough over the center and pinch it at the ends to adhere it to the loaf.
- Place the loaf onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Let the loaf rise in a warm, dry place for another hour.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, mix the egg and water together to make an egg wash.
- Brush the top of your loaf with the egg wash.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the loaf is just a light golden brown.
- Brush with the rest of the melted butter.
- Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes.
- Slice and serve