Hi Michael,
> Although the bread tastes perfectly delicious, I get "stretched" areas
> where the braids meet, which fail to brown as nicely as the rest of the
loaf.
You are missing a few bits of information in your messagehow much sugar
is in your dough and for how long are you baking the bread for me to
fully diagnose your problem, but I do have a few suggestions.
I see the "problem" you describe when breads brown very quickly (I don't
really think its a true problem unless this look really bugs you). You
could try to just bake the bread a little longer, tenting it with foil if
the extremities are starting to color too much. Or try baking at 325, but
also for a longer time.
I usually bake a 1-pound hallah for 30-35 minutes at 325 F if there is a
lot of sugar in the dough, or at 350 F if it is less sweet. For hallahs
with no sugar, I bake at 400 F for the same amount of time.
Hope this helps!
Maggie Glezer (who is currently at work on a book about hallah!)