Continuing the yeasty journey

I've prepared the tangzhong bread a few times now. Its seriously my favorite. It produce the light fluffy bread with thin crisp crust that I seek out in my favorite asian bakeries. Today I've decided to try out my first loaf using part whole wheat flour and braided. I have never braided a loaf before! I was anxious also that the flour substitution would weigh down the loaf. Many commercial whole wheat breads are dense and grainy, a main objection I personally have to them. I like the grainy nutty taste but the texture is terrible! My fears were unfounded. The loaf came out as softly fluffy as all the others. I warn you that despite a long kneading session on my mixer, this never hits that window pane stage of gluten development. Don't worry. It will rise and fluff up just fine if a tad (barely noticeable) less than the all white bread flour kind.

Note the braid. I'm terribly proud of my first braid.

Here I've sliced it open so you can see the loft. crumb, and raisin distribution.

Whole Wheat Raisin Braid

A:
280 grams bread flour
200 grams whole wheat flour
10 grams instant dried yeast (aka bread machine yeast)
50 grams sugar
7 grams salt
2 tsp vital wheat gluten

B:
1 egg
150 grams milk
120 grams tangzhong

C:
50 grams melted butter
Raisins to taste
1 egg beaten

Mix up all the dry ingredients listed as part A. Create a well in the middle. Add in all the B ingredients. Using the dough hook on a slow speed, mix until everything comes together and there's no more dry flour (about 5 minutes). Up the speed to medium and mix for 15 more minutes to develop the gluten. Add the butter.
Mix for another 10 - 15 minutes. You should have a nice smooth ball of dough right about now. Barely tacky to the touch.

Put into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and proof until doubled in size, about an hour. Take out and split into 6 equal pieces. Shape each piece into tiny balls and allow to rest 15 minutes under a damp cloth. Roll out each ball into as flat a pancake as possible. Sprinkle on as many raisin as you'd like but try to err on the side of not too many :) Fold top of the pancake down to about the middle of the dough, fold up the bottom of the pancake to meet that middle, fold in the left and right sides to meet in the middle too so you should have a roughly rectangular packet now. Flip the packet over and roll it out into a long rectangular strip. Roll it up into a thick cigar along the longer edge. Roll the cigar back and forth until you have a roll of even thickness. Line up three of these and pinch/press one of the ends together. Braid the three strands then pinch/press the other end together. You should end up with two short far braids. Place on parchment on the cookie sheet. Cover with a damp cloth and proof for another 40 minutes or until more than doubled in size.

Heat oven to 350F during this time. Paint the top with the beaten egg. Bake for about 30 minutes. To test if the bread is fully cooked take it temperature just like you would with a big roast! You're looking for 200F. If its not there yet, let it bake for another 5-10 minutes. Immediately remove onto a rack and allow the loaves to cool. I can only wait till about warmish before diving in with some butter :)