Eezy-du Coffee Braid

Recipe from Grammy Marge

Ingredients

• 1 package dry yeast
• ¾ cup water, divided
• ½ cup Spry (shortening)
• ½ cup sugar
• 1¼ cups milk
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 7 cups flour
• ½ cup confectioners sugar
• 1 Tbsp hot water
• walnuts, chopped
• candied cherries, chopped

Instructions

Soak dry yeast in ¼ cup lukewarm water for 5 minutes.  Put ½ cup boiling water in a large bowl.  Add Spry and stir to melt.  Add sugar, milk, eggs and salt.

Stir in dissolved yeast and flour.  Knead on floured board till it makes like bubble gum.  Turn into same mixing bowl in which it has been mixed and which has been lightly floured.  Grease top of kneaded bread to prevent crust forming and let rise in warm place about 2 hours or till doubled in bulk.  (If it comes up too fast, punch down.  To speed rising add another package of yeast or decrease liquid and add more eggs.)

Turn out onto floured board.  Knead and shape into three long “ropes”.  Dip each rope into melted butter, then coat with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.  Braid and arrange in greased angel cake tin for round braid or cookie sheet for straight braid. 

Bake at 350° for 35 minutes.  A hotter oven will burn it.  While still hot, dribble over an icing made from ½ cup confectioner’s sugar and 1 tablespoon hot water.  Immediately sprinkle with chopped candied cherries and walnuts.

This can be varied in lots of ways, but this is the basis.