Ingredients
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp. active dry yeast
- 3 eggs, slightly beaten
- ¼ cup melted butter, cooled
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tsp. salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix sugar, warm water and yeast.
- Allow to stand for about 10 minutes or until yeast is foaming.
- Mix in eggs, butter and honey and add 3 ½ cups flour.
- Add rest of flour a bit at a time to make a soft, but not sticky dough.
- Turn out dough onto a floured board and knead for a few minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
- Butter a clean bowl and roll the dough around in the bowl to coat with the butter.
- Cover with plastic wrap and a clean tea towel.
- Place in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk.
- At this point, knead the dough again and divide into 2 loaves or allow to rise for a second time.
- If you wish to braid the bread, the best video I found is the Tory Amos video for 4 strand bread.
- Beat 1 egg with a tbsp. of water and brush the top of the bread.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired and allow bread to rise again.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until bread is nicely browned and sounds hollow when tapped.
