Swedish Coffee Braids (bread)

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup scalded milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup softened crisco
• 1 egg, at room temperature and beaten
• 4 -5 cups flour or 4 -5 cups bread flour
• chopped walnuts
• 1 egg, beaten (for brushing over each roll before baking)
• melted butter
• sugar
• cinnamon
• walnuts

Recipe

• 1 soften yeast with 1/4 cup warm water and 1/2 tsp sugar and set aside.
• 2 in mixing bowl combine scalded milk, sugar, salt and crisco, cool to lukewarm, and add yeast and 1 of the eggs.
• 3 gradually add flour to form a soft dough.
• 4 knead in remaining flour until smooth and satiny, about 5-8 minutes.
• 5 cover and let rise until double.
• 6 divide dough in two and on a floured surface with a rolling pin roll out each dough to about 12x9 size.
• 7 brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar and chopped walnuts.
• 8 starting with 12-inch side, roll up jelly roll style seal seams and ends and place each roll seam side down on cookie sheet (greased).
• 9 take scissors (or knife) and snip part way through each bread roll one inch apart in a tractor tread style.
• 10 cover and let rise again.
• 11 brush both bread rolls with another beaten egg and sprinkle nuts over both.
• 12 bake at 350°f for about 25 minutes.
• 13 allow to cool slightly and if desired ice with favorite icing recipe.