Braided Coke Bread – surprisingly delicious!

Name: Braided Coke Bread – surprisingly delicious!
Prep time: 2 h 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 3 h
Ingredients: 410 g All purpose flour; 20 g Sugar; 4 g Salt; 5 g Instant dry yeast; 45 g Oil; 250 ml Regular Coke

AuthorYun Zhang JohnCategoryBread, Plant BasedDifficultyIntermediateRating

Yields1 Serving

Prep Time2 hrs 30 minsCook Time30 minsTotal Time3 hrs

Braided Coke Bread – surprisingly delicious!

I’ve got an obsession with Coke. If there’s a cold can of it nearby, I will always reach for it. So for the sake of my waistline, I try not to keep too many cans at home. Then, I saw this recipe for Coke bread, and I said….WHA? How interesting! How does that taste? Will it be too sweet? Would it rise properly? Needless to say, I had to try it out.

And the ensuing result was pretty fantastic! A soft, squish, sweet bread that is nice to enjoy as is or toasted with butter or jam.

Please don’t confuse this recipe for some quick breads made using Coca Cola that are more cake like than bread. This is a yeast leaven bread bread that eats like….bread.

Coke in cooking

The idea of using Coca Cola to make bread may seem novel, but in fact it’s not so far fetched. Some German breads use beer as the primary liquid to add a robust earthy flavour. Comparatively, the coke used here also imparts a surprisingly pleasing caramel-y flavour to the otherwise simple bread.

In fact, if you look for it, Coke can be found in other cooking applications too. I’ve seen it successfully used to cook ham, to make chicken wings, or even noodles! So why not a Coke bread?

The Braiding

While the recipe is simple, the shaping was not. I decided to shape this loaf of Coke bread into a Swiss Braided Bread or “Butterzopf” or “Tresse” - a sweet brioche-style plaited bread that is traditionally served on Sundays …And boy, did it look good.

And while the addition of Coca Cola is definitely unconventional, the sweetness and soft, chewy texture of this Coke bread is actually quite similar to a typical Swiss Braided Bread.

Having said that, the technique for forming a six braid Swiss Braided Bread can be a little bit complicated, so be sure to watch the video carefully to get the sequence of steps.

In conclusion

If you’ve made it this far in the post, I must have peaked your curiosity. So let me give you more reason on why you should definitely make this Coke Bread.

-It’s super easy. 6 everyday ingredients and no equipment needed. (unless you want to pull out that stand mixer)

-It’s a show stopper. Follow my guide for braiding and brush generously with egg wash and you can also pull this gorgeous braided bread out of your oven!

-It’s fun! Surprise your family and friends with a bread made with Coke. They’ll be intrigued and impressed…I promise.

You Will Need

410 g All purpose flour

20 g Sugar1.5 tbsp

4 g Salt3/4 tsp

5 g Instant dry yeast1.5 tsp

45 g Oil

250 ml Regular Coke

Instructions

Preparing the dough

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.

Measure out the 250ml of Coke and pour it into the dry mixture. Then add the oil and mix together with a spoon or spatula.

Once the dough is roughly mixed up. Switch over to hands or a stand mixer and knead the dough for 5-7min or until it become supple, elastic and somewhat smooth.

Grease the proofing bowl with oil. Shape the dough into a tight smooth ball and grease it with the oil that's in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it to rise in a warm, humid and draft-free place. It can take between 1-2 hours for the dough to sufficiently rise.

When the dough has at least doubled in size. Punch out the air and divide into 6 equal pieces. Flatten each piece and roll into cigar shapes. Do the same to all six pieces and leave them to rest covered for 10min.

After they've rested. Roll each piece into a long strand of dough that measure approximately 40cm. You will end up with 6 long strands of dough. Line them up next to each other on a table surface.

Braiding

Go to one end and pinch together the 6 strands of dough. Then stand on the side where all the strands of dough are separate. Start by pulling the right most outer strand across to the other side. Laying it horizontally across from the other vertical strands of dough.

Do the same with the left most outer strand and lay it horizontal on the other side. These 2 strands will cross over one another.

Now organize the remaining 4 vertical strands into 2 different sections, with 2 strands closer together on the right and then left. This becomes the starting position.

Braided Coke Bread | Yun's Family Table

Next, take the 1st strand that your crossed, which is now laying horizontal on the left side and move it to the centre, but closer to the 2 strands that make up the right section….which means that that section now has 3 strands of dough

Then, from there, move the outer right most strand across and lay it horizontal on the left. Now you are back to the starting position again.

From here, you just repeat the process, alternating from left to right until the braid is complete. It helps if you try to keep the 2 sections that comprise of the vertical strands on the left and right separated.

If there are any large air bubbles, just pop it out with your fingers,

As you get to the end, the strands will become shorter and harder to braid, but keep going and at the very end pinch together the remaining strands and tuck it under. Then do the same on the top side.

Finally carefully move the dough on to a baking tray and cover with plastic wrap so it won’t dry out as it’s left to rise again.

Baking

When the braided bread rises to at least 1.5 x its original size, which might take between 45min-1.5hours. Brush generously with egg wash all over. Make sure to cover every inch.

Braided Coke Bread | Yun's Family Table

Bake in a preheated 180C or 356F oven for 30-35min.

Ingredients

410 g All purpose flour

20 g Sugar1.5 tbsp

4 g Salt3/4 tsp

5 g Instant dry yeast1.5 tsp

45 g Oil

250 ml Regular Coke

Directions

Preparing the dough

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.

Measure out the 250ml of Coke and pour it into the dry mixture. Then add the oil and mix together with a spoon or spatula.

Once the dough is roughly mixed up. Switch over to hands or a stand mixer and knead the dough for 5-7min or until it become supple, elastic and somewhat smooth.

After they've rested. Roll each piece into a long strand of dough that measure approximately 40cm. You will end up with 6 long strands of dough. Line them up next to each other on a table surface.

Braiding

Do the same with the left most outer strand and lay it horizontal on the other side. These 2 strands will cross over one another.

Now organize the remaining 4 vertical strands into 2 different sections, with 2 strands closer together on the right and then left. This becomes the starting position.

Braided Coke Bread | Yun's Family Table

Then, from there, move the outer right most strand across and lay it horizontal on the left. Now you are back to the starting position again.

If there are any large air bubbles, just pop it out with your fingers,

Finally carefully move the dough on to a baking tray and cover with plastic wrap so it won’t dry out as it’s left to rise again.

Baking

When the braided bread rises to at least 1.5 x its original size, which might take between 45min-1.5hours. Brush generously with egg wash all over. Make sure to cover every inch.

Braided Coke Bread | Yun's Family Table

Bake in a preheated 180C or 356F oven for 30-35min.

Braided Coke Bread – surprisingly delicious!

Ingredients Directions

2 thoughts on “Braided Coke Bread – surprisingly delicious!”

Jojo

November 18, 2022 at 1:37 am

Thank you! It is just lovely soft airy bread! Great taste and quite fast to make! 💕
Reply
- Yun Zhang John
  
  November 18, 2022 at 9:59 am
  
  I know, right? who would have thought that this would actually taste good!
  Reply