Name: Seven-Strand Plaited Wreath
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 2 h 35 min
Yield: 1 wreath
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 500 g bread flour; 7 g instant yeast (fast-action dried yeast); 10 g table salt (fine); 1½ tbsp olive oil (plus extra for greasing); 340 ml water; 1 egg (lightly beaten with a pinch of salt)

A showpiece that is easier than it looks. Seven long strands are fanned out from one point and plaited with a single move, the outside strand over three into the middle, first from the right, then from the left, again and again. The finished plait is bent into a ring, glazed with egg and baked until it is golden and shiny.

Paul Hollywood’s recipe from The Great British Bake Off: Comfort Bakes, published on the Bake Off website, written out here in my own words.

Recipe by Willy Bear

Prep: 40 min
Bake: 25 min
Rest: 1 hr 30 min
Total: 2 hr 35 min
Makes: 1 wreath
Level: hard

Recipe originally written in grams and auto-converted to US cups. Conversions can be slightly off, especially for flour, so weigh when you can.

For the dough

4⅛ cups (500 g) bread flour
2⅓ tsp (7 g) instant yeast, fast-action dried yeast
1⅔ tsp (10 g) table salt, fine
1½ tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing
1⅜ cups (340 ml) water

To glaze

1 egg, lightly beaten with a pinch of salt

Equipment

Large mixing bowl
Measuring jug
Baking sheet dusted with flour
Proving bag or large clean plastic bag
Pastry brush
Kitchen scale
Ruler

Method

Mix. Put the flour in a large bowl, add the yeast and salt and stir them through.
Add the water. Measure the water in a jug. Pour in about three-quarters of it with the olive oil and mix by hand, then mix in the rest to make a dough.
Knead. Knead on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes, until the dough looks silky and stretchy.
Rise. Put it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
Divide. Knock the dough back on a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Divide it into 7 equal pieces (weigh them) and roll each into a strand about 50 cm long.
Set up. Lay the strands on a lightly floured surface like an octopus, fanned out from one point at the top and stretching toward you. Press the top ends onto the surface with your thumb.
Plait. Take the outside strand on the right and cross it over 3 strands into the middle. Then take the outside strand on the left and cross it over 3 strands into the middle. Keep going, right then left, until all the strands are plaited.
Make the wreath. Trim each end of the plait neatly, bend it round into a ring and pinch the ends together. Tuck the join underneath.
Prove. Set it on the floured baking sheet, put it in a proving bag and leave for 45 minutes, until almost doubled. Heat the oven. Oven: 425°F / 220°C (200°C fan)
Bake. Brush the top with the beaten egg and bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped underneath.

Baker's notes

The Bake Off page gives the water only in the method, so it is listed here with the rest. It also says Gas 8 next to 220°C; Gas 8 is hotter, so this uses 220°C (425°F), which matches the other two temperatures it gives.

ricottabear.com/seven-strand-plaited-wreath · US measures, metric in brackets

Reviews + questions

Nothing yet. Bake it and be the first to judge, or ask me anything about it.

Review it or ask a question

I have not made this one myself yet, so amounts and timings may change once I have. Something not right? Tell me above and I will fix it.

The recipe, what went wrong, and what Jana said. No spam, no daily emails.

Seven-Strand Plaited Wreath