This week's experiment... and new questions.

Hi All, 

Amazing how much you learn by experimentation...

So, the last loaf I posted was well-liked by my wife and I, but my little boy was reluctant to taste it until the very end.  I had included whole wheat, amaranth seeds, and flax meal, and I put sesame seeds on top - but he's still in his "white bread" stage of development.  Also, when he finally tasted it, he got a big smile and said he liked it, but then asked me if I could make a loaf that was all heels.  (My wife and my mom both vie for the heels because they like the extra crustiness of the end of the loaf, and my son has picked up on this.)

So I thought about it for a bit and tried to think how I could make a loaf with an increased percentage of crust surface area.  I mulled the idea for doing an epi-style baguette, but I figured we'd eat that up pretty fast and not have enough for the rest of the week.  Finally, I got the idea of doing a braided loaf - with the knobby bumps all over it it would fit the bill for a loaf that was "all heels."

My birthday was last week and I got an amazon gift card so I finally broke down and bought The Art of Braiding Bread Kindle book.  The reviews for the book were mixed, but I felt it was useful for its intended purpose.  My only complaint (aside from the cost) is the large number of youtube videos that it references as supplements to the text - hopefully those videos will still be in existence when I decide to use them for further instruction in braiding.  I ultimately decided on a 4-strand braid, because I wanted my son to help with the braiding.  He took to it like a duck to water :-)

I also wanted a softer loaf that was more kid-friendly so I added an egg and replaced the water with milk.  The crumb was dense but wonderfully soft.  I also misunderstood my wife about our schedule for the week so it ended up retarding in the fridge for a full 48 hours and had a very nice flavor profile.  

The Formula I used:

KAF Bread flour 400g
1 egg (this weighed out right at 50g)
1% milk 270g
10g Kosher salt
5g Instant yeast
1 egg + 1 Tbls water (for brushing the loaf before baking)

1. Everything went in the bowl and stirred by hand to make a shaggy mass.
2. I then did slap-and-folds until it came together and smoothed out - about 6-7 minutes.
3. Shaped into a nice tight ball and back into the bowl. This went in the fridge for 48 hours.
4. Rested on the countertop for an hour to take the chill off then divided into 4 equal pieces to prepare for braiding.
5. After braiding I transferred the loaf to a sheet of parchment and covered it with a towel to proof on the countertop for 1 1/2 hours.
6. Brushed with the egg/water mixture and waited for the oven to preheat to 450F. Then I brushed the loaf a second time.
7. Put the loaf (still on parchment) directly on the oven rack and immediately turned the temp down to 425F.

The loaf:

And the crumb (the crazy cutting job was so that I could extract "heels" for my son:

So, now for the questions:

In researching braided breads for this bake, I naturally ran across several recipes for Challah.  In Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible, she included the egg in the liquid for the hydration calculation and using this logic I figured my formula for an 80% hydration.  But interestingly, the dough was much firmer than I expected for this level of hydration.  My first question is why?  I haven't used bread flour for a while (have been using AP) and I'm wondering if the increased protein was the cause of the firmer dough, or does hydrating with milk and eggs cause this?

With regard to the actual oven time, I went in to rotate the loaf 180 degrees after 15 minutes and it was starting to get pretty dark.  So I covered the top with a sheet of aluminum foil to slow the browning.  After another 15 minutes I checked the internal temp and came up with 180F and I put it back in for another 5 minutes.  I had intended to cook it for an extra 10 minutes but after just 5 it was really starting to smell like I was overbaking it.  The final temp was only 190F but the bottom of the loaf was really dark.  Obviously, the egg wash contributed to the browning of the top, which is what it is supposed to do, but I can't help thinking that this enriched dough should have been baked at a lower temp altogether?  Right?

Finally, when doing the braiding, as I was rolling out the dough ropes the dough seemed nicely proofed.  It probably would have made a nice smooth loaf had I done a free-form or put it in a loaf pan.  But the amount of gas in the dough made it nearly impossible to get the ropes "tight."  It felt as if I was rolling a piece of surgical tubing back and forth, and it did not have a nice smooth appearance on the surface.  Any tips for facilitating the rope-making process?

Again, thanks for looking!

     --Mike