Mama's Finnish Coffee Bread

Total Time: 4 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 4 hrs Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 4 cups milk
• 1/2 lb butter
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 beaten eggs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon cardamom seed, crushed
• 5 lbs unbleached flour
• 3 (1/4 ounce) packages yeast, 3-4 pkg, in
• 1/2 cup warm water, with
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1 egg, with
• sugar, small amount, for glaze

Recipe

• 1 dissolve yeast in warm -not too hot- water with a small amount of sugar to feed the yeast. in a large pot,heat milk and butter until boiling. remove from heat and cool until lukewarm. beat eggs and sugar together. add salt, cardamom, flour and yeast mixture. kmead well on a floured surface. cover and let rise til double. separate dough into halves and then separate each half into 3 loaves.(6 loaves total) separate each loaf into 3 sections. roll each section between your hands into long tubular shapes. braid the 3 sections together and tuck ends. put loaves on a greased cookie sheet. let rise double again. bake at 325 for 15 minutes. remove from oven. brush top of loaves with a beaten egg mixed with a little sugar. sprinkle sugar over egg glaze. return to oven for 15 minutes more.