Bread

Bread Ring And Braid

Ingredients

The milk should be scalded, and cooled until lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast cake in one-half cup of it. Then add one-half cup of flour. Mix thoroughly by beating and let rise. When it has doubled its bulk add four and one-half cups of flour and repeat the rising process. Next add all the other ingredients and flour to make a dough just stiff enough to handle (probably about one and one-half cups will be needed). Toss on a floured surface, knead, cover, and let rise a third time.
To make a ring: Roll out the dough as thinly as possible, spread with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Roll like a jelly roll. The dough will probably stick and have to be coaxed to roll with a knife. Stretch if necessary to make it long enough to form a good ring. Cut a piece from each end and join the two ends to make a circle. Cut at regular intervals with the kitchen shears from outside edge almost to center.
To make a braid: Cut three pieces of dough of equal size. Roll them into equal lengths with the hands. Fasten three ends together and braid evenly. The braid may be put on a greased baking sheet or shaped around a circular dish. Let the braid rise, brush it with an egg yolk, beaten and diluted with half a tablespoon of cold water. Bake in a moderately hot oven for 20 minutes at 380 degrees. Chopped nuts or sugar and cinnamon may be sprinkled over it before it is baked, if you choose.