Portuguese Sweet Bread

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 ounces dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 7 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 -9 cups flour, sifted
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Recipe

• 1 dissolve yeast in large bowl with warm water and a pinch sugar. let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• 2 scald milk. add butter to melt, then add the salt and stir. let cool to 100 degrees.
• 3 in electric mixer, beat eggs until frothy. add sugar and beat 3 minutes. blend in milk mixture. stir into yeast mixture in large bowl.
• 4 stir in 7 cups flour, 1 cup at a time.
• 5 dough should be soft and pull away from sides of bowl. turn dough onto well floured surface and sprinkle with 1 cup flour. knead about 10 minutes (adding up to 1 more cup flour).
• 6 grease large bowl. add dough turning to coat both sides. cover and let rise in a warm area until doubled in size (about 2 hours).
• 7 punch down dough. let rest 10 minutes. now cut dough in half to make two loaves. you can braid one loaf or put in a greased 1 quart casserole dish or cake pan.
• 8 cover and let rise once more (about 1 hour).
• 9 preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• 10 bake until loaves are golden brown and hollow sounding about 30 minutes. brush tops with melted butter when done. also freezes well.