Tricolor Bread Braid
Multi-Colored Loaf of White, Wheat and Pumpernickel
A beautiful, hearty blend of breads all in one braided loaf.
Homemade bread takes on a new and colorful twist in a Tricolor Bread Braid, which brings three colors, flavors and textures to the table.
This recipe is no more difficult than baking two plain loaves of bread, but requires three different types of flour and some extra ingredients. Making braided bread is fun for the kids to join in on, too!
The end result is more than worth the effort and ingredients. You’ll end up with two beautiful loaves of bread rich in fiber and packed with flavor.
Tricolor Bread Braid
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 2 1/3 cups warm water (110 degrees)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 5 cups all-purpose white flour
- 4 tablespoons dark molasses
- 2 tablespoons wheat germ
- 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons cocoa
- 1½ teaspoons caraway seeds
- 1 1/3 cups rye flour
- 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Stir in honey, salt, butter and half of the white flour. Beat on high speed for 4 minutes with an electric mixer. Divide batter into thirds, placing it in three separate bowls.
For whole wheat bread strand:
Add half the molasses to the dough in Bowl #1. Add wheat germ and wheat flour. Turn dough onto a floured board and knead until smooth, adding as much all-purpose flour as needed to prevent sticking. Place in a greased bowl and turn dough so that all sides of the dough is greased. Set aside.
For the pumpernickel bread strand:
Stir remaining molasses into the dough in Bowl #2. Add cocoa, caraway seeds and rye flour. Turn onto floured board and knead until smooth, adding all-purpose flour as needed. Place dough in separate, greased bowl. Turn to grease all sides of the dough.
For white bread strand:
Stir remaining flour into dough in Bowl #3. Turn dough onto floured board and knead until smooth. Place in greased bowl. Turn to grease all sides of the dough. Set aside.
Cover all three bowls with tea towels and set in a warm, draft-free place to rise. Let dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down all three doughs and divide each in half. Roll each ball into 15-inch-long ropes. Braid a white with a wheat and a pumpernickel and place on a greased 14”-by-17” baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining white, wheat and pumpernickel ropes. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Brush both loaves with egg yolk mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes. Cool on racks. Makes 2 loaves.
