Sweet Braided Sourdough Bread

This sweet braided sourdough loaf is as beautiful as it is delicious. Made with a rich, buttery dough and naturally leavened with sourdough starter, it has a soft, tender crumb and a hint of sourdough tang. The sourdough braid bakes up golden and fluffy, with pearl sugar sprinkled on top for a sweeter finish. Whether you’re serving it at brunch or gifting it for the holidays, this loaf is sure to impress.

If you love sweet sourdough recipes, then you must check out these sweet chocolate chip sourdough rolls, cinnamon swirl sourdough bread or this carrot cake sourdough bread.

Why You'll Love This Recipe!

Easier Than It Looks - while this might look complicated, the braiding is actually really easy and I'm going to show you exactly how to do it step by step!

Stunning Presentation - the braided shape and golden crust sprinkled with pearl sugar make it a showstopper. It's perfect for brunch, holidays or even gifting. It looks like something straight out of a European bakery.

Ingredients

• Sourdough Starter - you'll need an active sourdough starter that has been fed and is at it's peak to make this recipe. You can read about the best time to use your sourdough starter here.
• Bread Flour - I recommend using a good quality bread flour for the best results.
• Eggs - the quality of eggs you use will have a bearing on the quality of the sourdough brioche loaf you produce. Use the freshest eggs possible will give you the richest flavor and best color for your sweet sourdough braid. The eggs are used in the dough, as well as to egg wash the dough before baking for a gorgeous shine.
• Butter - you'll need to use butter that is soft, but not melted. I've used salted, but you can of course use unsalted if you prefer. Again the quality of your butter will have a bearing on the color of your baked loaf.
• Milk - whole milk is used as the liquid in this rich, sweet sourdough loaf. I don't recommend using lower fat milk or any dairy alternatives in this loaf.
• Sugar - I've used fine white sugar to sweeten the dough and then topped the sweet braided sourdough with pearl sugar (you might also know this as hail sugar). This is optional but it does look very pretty!
• Salt - a little salt for flavor, as well as to strengthen the gluten network of this dough.

How To Make Sweet Braided Sourdough Bread

This sweet braided sourdough bread is based on my easy sourdough brioche recipe. I recommend giving this a read if you've never made it before, just to familiarise yourself with the technique of making sourdough brioche, including a full explanation of the window pane test.

I've used my KitchenAid Mixer to create this recipe because I find it's the easiest way to mix and knead the dough. You can of course knead the dough by hand if you prefer. You're looking for a window pane for the best results.

Warm milk to around 37C (you don't want it to be cold, but not too warm either). Add the milk and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix until the sugar is dissolved. I've used the whisk attachment for this step.

Now add the sourdough starter, flour and eggs to the bowl. Mix into a rough dough and let it sit for around 30 minutes. I've used the dough hook attachment for this step and for all subsequent kneading.

Once the dough has sat for a little while, add the butter and salt and use the stand mixer to knead it really well. You want the butter to mix all the way through and the dough to become very soft and elastic. Depending on the type of mixer you use, this could take 3 minutes, it could take 20 minutes.

Once the dough is silky and elastic (it can be slightly sticky) it should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl (use the window pane test to test dough readiness). Transfer the dough into a large bowl for bulk fermentation. Cover with plastic and set aside.

Once the dough has risen a bit (it doesn't have to double, 50% rise is ok in this instance) you'll need to braid the sweet sourdough dough.

Turn the dough onto the counter and divide into 3 equal pieces. You can braid 4 pieces if you are confident to do so, but I find 3 is perfect if you've never done this before.

Roll each of the pieces into a long log shape and then join the three pieces together at the top (I've included illustrations in the post above so you can see what I mean). Then braid the 3 pieces together folding one over the other until they are all joined. Seal the ends together.

Use a dough scraper to move your braid onto a parchment paper lined baking tray. You could also place it into a baking dish if you prefer.

Cover the dough with a dish towel and allow it to proof and get nice and puffy. This can take quite a while due to the butter, milk and eggs. A note here - depending on the temperature I'm proofing in, I will sometimes wet my dish towel with warm water to cover the dough, but it's not always necessary.

Once the dough is puffy, it's time to bake! Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.

While the oven is preheating, mix an egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the dough generously with this egg wash. Then sprinkle over your pearl sugar (you can use as much or as little of this as you like).

Bake the sourdough brioche at 180C/350F for around 30 minutes. This loaf will burn easily so keep an eye on it. If the top of the loaf starts to get to dark, cover the loaf with foil and turn the oven down to 160C to allow it to cook through without burning.

Once the dough is out of the oven, you can brush with butter if you want to, but it's not essential. This will give you a softer crust. I like to allow this to cool a little before slicing. Unlike regular sourdough bread, I don't give this a long time to cool, but at least an hour before slicing is always a good idea.

Baking Timeline

This is a sample baking timeline for making sweet braided sourdough bread. You will need to adjust the times to suit your own temperature and environment, but this timeline works well for my sourdough starter and kitchen temperature.

Serving Suggestions

This sweet braided sourdough bread makes a the perfect centrepiece for a celebration breakfast or brunch. I love making it as a special Easter sourdough bread. Here are a few ways you could serve it:

• I love serving this sweet braided sourdough loaf with a butter flight. My current faves are chocolate butter, whipped brown butter, spicy jalapeño honey butter, cultured butter and cranberry orange butter.
  
• For something extra special, serve alongside a dish of this whipped Brie butter! It's a true brunch indulgence!
  
• Use up leftovers in this sourdough bread pudding recipe.

How To Store + Freeze

This gorgeous sweet braided sourdough bread is best eaten the day of baking. I usually like to allow it to cool for around an hour before serving to ensure that it's easy to slice. Because of the high fat content in the dough from the milk, butter and eggs, it will stay soft for a few days. I like to store the leftovers of this loaf in a plastic bag or under a glass cloche.

This loaf does freeze well too. You'll find instructions for freezing sourdough bread here.

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