This recipe is once again thanks to Anja, who made this when we spent yet another day at their home, with both our husbands playing, I mean working of course, on our new (but very old) camper van. They have put a wood stove into the van and it is SUPERB.

But then again, so is this bread and it will be easier for you to make than a wood stove I guarantee it. I might actually be able to make a bread like this in the oven adaption they have made for said wood stove... Will let you know if I do, but let's get back to the recipe on hand.

This is a bread that is typically served on the Sabbath, but it tastes good any day of the week if you ask me. And it looks as lovely as it tastes - and it tastes as lovely as it looks! Win win.

The original recipe calls for 50g of salt and Anja put in this amount and the bread tasted good, but we both felt it could have done with a lot less salt. So the recipe below has been changed to use less salt. If there is a reason for this large amount of salt, then please write a comment and tell us why.

It also uses fresh yeast, which according The Bake-Off Queen, Mary Berry, is the ONLY yeast to use to bake bread. I'm sure she's right, but I can never get fresh yeast out here in the countryside, so I nearly always use dried yeast and have a 100% success rate with it. Sorry Mary! Use whatever you're comfortable with. (PS: Anja used fresh yeast.)

The plait shape is really lovely and you just divide the dough into 3 pieces, roll each piece into a sausage shape and lay them next to each other. Press the top of each sausage together and then plait the same as you would your hair. Tuck in the top and bottom ends to make it nice and tidy.

THE RECIPE

40g fresh yeast or 20g dried yeast
400ml lukewarm water
40g sugar
10g salt
1kg white flour
3 medium sized cooked potatoes, mashed
1 egg yolk, beaten
Poppy seeds and/or sesame seeds to sprinkle

METHOD:

1. Dissolve the fresh yeast and sugar in the water and leave in a warm place for 10 – 15 minutes. (You can skip this step if you're using dried yeast and just add it to the flour along with the water. There are generally directions for how to use it on the packet too.)
2. Mix this yeast mix with 250ml flour and then add the salt.
3. Add the mashed potatoes and the rest of the flour. Add more water if necessary. Knead well and then leave in a warm place to rise for about 30 minutes.
4. Take 2/3 of the dough and form into a plait (see above for how-to-it-directions). Then make a smaller plait with the rest of the dough. Press the smaller plait on top of the bigger plait. Leave to rise for about 10 minutes.
5. Brush with the egg yolk and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds.
6. Bake in a 200°C preheated oven for about 40 minutes.
7. Enjoy!