Christmas Bread

Makes 2 Loaves

Ingredients:

2 Packages Dry Yeast
1/2 cup Warm Water
3/4 cup Milk; At Room Temperature
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter; Softened
3 Large Eggs; Lightly Beaten (1 Egg White in Reserve)
1 cup Currants or Raisins; Or a Mixture of Both
1/2 cup Citron; Diced
1/2 cup Orange Peel or Candied Fruit; Diced
4 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
3/4 cup Blanched Almonds; Chopped
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

In a large mixing bowl stir yeast into warm water and dissolve. Add the milk, sugar, salt, butter and 2 whole eggs plus the yolk from a third egg and blend well.

In a separate bowl, dust the raisins, currants, citron and orange peel or candied fruit with a little flour and cinnamon. Add the almonds to the fruit mixture.

Add half of the flour to the yeast mixture and stir until smooth. Cover and let raise in a warm place until doubled, at least 1-hour. Add the remaining flour and kneed the dough until smooth and elastic, approximately 5-minutes. Knead in the fruits and almonds. Place dough in an oiled bowl, turning the dough so it is completely coated and covered. Let dough raise for about 30-minutes.

Divide the dough into two equal portions and press each ball into a large, flat circle. Fold each circle over so the top half is 1-inch from the edge of the bottom half, forming a split-loaf shape.

Place loaves on a greased baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let raise again until doubled in size, approximately 30-minutes. Brush tops with remaining egg white for even browning. Bake in a pre-heated 375-F degree oven for 40-minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and sprinkle the top generously with powdered sugar before serving sliced.