Ingredients: |
Ingredients: 2 packages active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk, scalded and still hot
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp salt
3 eggs, well beaten
6 to 7 cups all purpose flour
Optional: 6 cold hard boiled eggs, still in shell, if making the Easter basket shaped loaves
|
Directions: |
Directions:Dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, mix together sugar, hot milk, butter, and salt; stir until butter melts. When cooled to lukewarm, beat in eggs and yeast mixture. Gradually beat 5 cups of the flour into the liquid, blending until smooth. Flour a board heavily with part of the remaining flour. Turn soft dough out onto board and sprinkle dough with more flour. Knead until very smooth and small air filled blisters form on surface of dough (about 15 to 20 minutes), adding flour to board as needed. Place dough in a large buttered bowl. Keep covered in a warm place and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Punch down dough. Butter hands to work with dough. This amount of dough will make 6 individual sized loaves or 2 pans (9 in square) of rolls.
To make loaves, make a ball of dough about 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Pinch off about 1/4 of the ball of dough and set aside. Shape larger portion into a flat round cake about 1/2 inch thick. Place on a greased baking sheet and gently press a hard cooked egg into the center of the dough. Form the small portion of the dough into 2 round strips about 6 inches long. Cross in an X over the egg and pinch the ends to the underside of the loaf. This looks like an Easter basket. Make a collar of double thick foil around 6 inches in diameter and 3/4 inch high. Set around the loaf. Allow 1 inch between rings on the baking sheet.
To shape rolls, make smooth balls of dough about 1 inch in diameter and place about 1/8 inch apart in a greased 9 inch square pan.
Cover shaped dough lightly and set in a warm place to rise again, for about an hour or until almost doubled in size. Bake at 350º for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve hot or cold with sweet butter or jam. This bread is dense and freezes well. |
This recipe for Portuguese Sweet Bread is from