a love affair with braided berries ♥ { strawberry raspberry bread braid }

You can call me crazy, but I have no shame in admitting that I love winter thunderstorms and rain, particularly at night and especially (of course, but not only) when I'm home, cozying up in the couch, underneath thick blankets and with a huge cup of freshly brewed tea nearby.

But there is one thing I like even more: those days (and many of them are left by these stormy nights) when you wake up to a bright sunshine and a deep blue sky, that almost make you forget how it is less than ten degrees celsius outside, because you can have breakfast in the balcony wearing a t-shirt as if it was summer.

Extra points if that day is a sunday ♥

I love these sunny winter mornings. They bring me fond memories of my childhood.

And most of all, I love homemade breakfast on a sunday like this.

I don't even care having to wait two hours to eat it. If there is really nothing too important to do, it just feels great to linger in bed, finally find your way to the kitchen, take the time to prepare something more elaborate, have a shower while it gets ready to bake - basically delay breakfast until you can't even call it a brunch no more.

(just have a cup of coffee by your side during all those steps.)

(and having a taste of jam and raspberries meanwhile is not cheating - if you're the one cooking!)

I got influenced to bake today's recipe after Inês from Ananás e Hortelã posted hers here - plain gorgeousness. Then I stumbled upon a few more recipes, like this one here, from What Should I Eat For Breakfast, which is also lovely. And finally I decided to come up with my own version, which I hope you like - I am very proud of it ;)

I took advantage of the fact that I was not in a rush to create a sort of photographic step-by-step guide so that you can see how it works. It's really simple to make and it will impress whoever you invite to join you for breakfast. That is... if you feel like sharing ;)

Pão Entrançado de Morango e Framboesa

7g de fermento seco

1 colher de sopa de açúcar

1/2 chávena de leite morno

 -

2 chávenas de farinha

50g de manteiga derretida

1 gema de ovo

1/2 colher de chá de sal

 -

250g de doce de morango liso (sem pedaços)

200g de framboesas frescas

 -

1 colher de sopa de açúcar amarelo

açúcar em pó para polvilhar

Pré-aquecer o forno a 50ºC (passo importante caso a temperatura ambiente seja relativamente baixa),

Numa taça pequena, misturar o fermento, o açúcar e o leite e deixar repousar cerca de 5-10 minutos,

Noutra taça maior, misturar a farinha e o sal,

Com uma colher de pau, incorporar a mistura do fermento, a gema e a manteiga; amassar depois com as mãos durante um par de minutos,

Colocar num recipiente untado com óleo, cobrir com um pano limpo e colocar no forno a levedar cerca de 1 hora (deverá duplicar de tamanho); desligar o forno mas manter a porta fechada,

Retirar do forno e aumentar a temperatura deste para 200ºC

Estender a massa sobre uma superfície ligeiramente enfarinhada até obter uma camada muito fina (cerca de meio cm),

Espalhar o doce e as framboesas sobre a massa, deixando cerca de 1/2 cm a toda a volta,

Enrolar no sentido da largura; cortar o rolo ao meio com uma faca deixando uma das pontas unida; voltar as duas metades com o centro para cima e entrançar;

Formar um anel com a massa e colocar numa forma ou tabuleiro untado com manteiga, polvilhar com o açúcar amarelo,

Levar ao forno, baixando a temperatura para os 170ºC, durante cerca de 30 minutos,

Retirar do forno, polvilhar com açúcar em pó e servir imediatamente.

Braided Strawberry-Raspberry Bread

7g dried yeast

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup warm milk

 -

2 cups flour

50g melted butter

1 egg yolk

1/2 tsp salt

 -

250g strained strawberry jam

200g fresh raspberries

 -

1 tbsp brown sugar

powdered sugar to sift over

Heat oven at 50ºC (important if room temperature is low),

In a small bowl, combine yeast, sugar and milk and let set for about 5-10 minutes,

In a bigger bowl, mix flour and salt,

With a wooden spoon, mix in the yeast mixture, the egg yolk and butter; knead for a couple of minutes with your hands,

Place in a greased bowl, cover with a clean cloth and place in the oven for about 1 hour (should double the size); turn off the oven but keep the door closed,

Remove from oven and turn it on at 200ºC,

Roll the dough over a surface that has been previously lightly dusted with flour until it is really thin (about half cm),

Spread the jam and raspberries on top, leaving a 1-2 cm margin all around,

Roll the dough lenghtwise; halve heightwise with a knive leaving one of the tops untouched; fold both halves up and braid,

Shape into a ring and place in a baking tray or platter, previously greased with butter, and sprinkle with brown sugar,

Change the oven temperature to 170ºC and bake for about 30 minutes,

Remove from oven, sift powdered sugar over and serve immediately.