Bread-Bakers v096.n067.11

Greetings All!!!

I hope the holidays find you all happy and healthy.  This bread is an old family recipe of my Vovo's (my portuguese grandmother) and my mother makes this every year for friends and family.  As my father is also on this list he will get a kick out of this as well.  I hope you all enjoy this bread.  It is my absolute favorite bread in the world.  BTW, if someone manages to adapt this sucessfully to the bread machine (I have tried and not been happy) please let me know.
Happy Holidays to All!!!
Kat Rodman

                     *  Exported from  MasterCook  *

                          Portuguese Sweet Bread

Recipe By     : Anna Martins and Irene Martins Levya
Serving Size  : 32   Preparation Time :0:00
Categories    : Breads

  Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
--------  ------------  --------------------------------
   2      envelopes     yeast
     1/4  cup           warm water -- approximately 105
                        degrees
   1      cup           sugar
   1      cup           milk
     1/4  cup           butter or margarine
   1      teaspoon      salt
   3                    eggs -- well beaten
   6      cups          bread flour -- sifted

Heat oven to 200 degrees.  Place an oblong pan filled with water
in the oven. (Omit this step if you have a gas stove.)  Fill
metal mixing bowl with very hot water and set aside.  

  Combine milk and butter in glass bowl and microwave for 1
minute on high until milk mixture is about 105 degrees.  Add
sugar and salt.  Empty mixing bowl.  In warmed mixing bowl, mix
yeast, 1/4 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Allow to get
foamy (approximately 2 minutes).  On low, beat in milk mixture
and then eggs.  With beater on medium add flour one cup at a time
making sure that mixture is smooth after each cup until dough is
stiff (about 5 cups).  Remove dough from bowl and place on well
floured surface.  Knead dough 15 to 20 minutes adding flour as
you go until dough is no longer sticky. Drape cloth over dough
and let rest. 

Shut off oven.  Liberally grease a large bowl twice the size of
your dough.  Place dough in bowl, turning the dough so that it
becomes greased on all sides.  Cover with plastic wrap and towel. 
Place bowl in middle of oven over pan of water and let rise.  If
you have used fast acting yeast, let the dough rise for 1 hour. 
If you have used regular yeast, let the dough rise for 2 hours.  

Grease two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.  Remove bowl from oven. 
Grease hands and remove dough from bowl onto lightly floured
surface.  (For those of us that have loose fitting wedding rings,
this is a good time to remove them.  It is awfully embarassing to
have to tear through every loaf of bread searching for your
rings.)  Punch down dough and with a rolling pin lightly roll out
dough to get the air out.  Form dough into 2 loaves and put into
greased pans once again rolling the dough around to grease it on
all sides.  At this point you can press in the optional hard
cooked eggs into top of loaves.   

Cover loaves with plastic wrap and towel and return to oven to
let rise for 1  more hour.   

Remove dough from oven.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Remove towel
and plastic wrap and bake loaves for 20 minutes.  Your final
product should be golden brown on top and lightly brown on
bottom.  Rub a stick of butter or margarine on top to lightly
cover.  Let bread cool out of pans on wire wrack for 2 hours. 
This bread freezes nicely and when stale makes delicious french
toast and bread pudding.



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NOTES :       At last report, Irene is sending out somewhere in the
 neighborhood of 20 loaves of this bread each Christmas.  As we
 all know this is a delicious remembrance of our family and our
                            history.