Vegan Cheese Braids

Who doesn't love homemade bread?
My mom never made bread from scratch. I remember her buying frozen bread dough that came 2 in a pack. All you had to do was thaw it for a hour on your counter, place in a greased loaf pan, and bake. Thirty minutes later you had bread; the aroma of fresh bread wafted throughout the whole house. I always wanted a warm slice of bread, which I would put a lot of butter on, so much that it created a lake of butter.

Nothing makes a house a home like the smell of fresh baked bread.  It's like a warm hug, that also fills your tummy.

This bread can be eaten alone with no butter - it's that good.  The cheese that is baked into the bread will satisfy you alone, or you can dip it into a nice bowl of soup.

Ingredients:

5 cups unbleached organic flour
3 tablespoons organic pure cane sugar
1 teaspoon organic garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons organic sunflower oil
2 cups shredded cheddar non-dairy cheese, plus extra for the top (I used Daiya)
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon of ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons water)
1 tablespoon melted non-dairy butter
Organic poppy seeds, or organic sesame seeds

Line 2 cookie sheets with unbleached parchment paper, set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat water, oil, and cheese. Stir occasionally, heat until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

In the mean time using your mixer bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups of flour with the sugar, garlic powder, salt, and yeast. Add the warm liquid, and the flax egg to the flour mixture. Blend on low speed for 3 minutes. Add the remaining flour and mix for an additional 5 minutes; the dough should pull cleanly away from the sides of the bowl when finished. If not, you may add 1 tablespoon of additional flour at a time.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for an hour.

Punch down dough, divide in half. With your first half of dough, divide again into 3 equally-sized pieces. Roll each piece using your hands into a 12' long strip. Lay each strip on your parchment lined baking sheet 1" apart. Braid the strips together, tuck ends under and seal. Repeat the process for your second half of dough.

Cover with a cotton towel and let rise again for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Brush each braid with the melted non-dairy butter, sprinkle with non-dairy cheese and either the poppy or sesame seeds.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool, then enjoy!