I have been practicing my eight-strand plait using a bundle of paracord until I had the pattern in my head and didn’t need the numbered instructions anymore. This really helped when it came to braid dough. It also helped that I read in a different recipe that if the dough becomes inelastic, to let it sit 10 minutes or so and try again. Game changer. I rolled my strands, did a light coat of flour, let them sit, then rolled them again to get a longer, thinner strand.