Recipe for Coffee Braids
My fifth cousin's secret coffee braid recipe (not so secret anymore)
Ingredients
1 pkg dry yeast
4 eggs
2 ¾ cups warm water
10 - 15 cardamom seeds (ground)
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
7 c. flour
¼ lb butter
sugar 1 cup + (if you like a sweeter bread add more than one cup)
1½ t. salt
Directions
Add 1 cup sugar to water, sprinkle yeast over this, let stand for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add two eggs and two other egg whites (save 2 egg yolks for later), 1½ t. salt, 1 stick butter (melted). Add 10-15 crushed cardamom seeds, 1 cup dry milk powder, and ¾ t. cinnamon.
Beat on low with electric mixer while adding 3 cups flour, in all you need 7 cups of flour – enough to make a stiff sticky dough (note a sticky dough is better than a dry dough, but not too sticky). Allow to rise until double (overnite), covering with a clean dry towel while rising.
Punch down and shake into one large square, then with a knife, cut into 4 loaves, then cut these loaves into 3 pieces to braid. Repeat, making 4 loaves. With a pastry brush, paint the tops of loaves with the remaining egg yolks. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and sugar. Let rise in pans at room temperature. Bake in oven at 325 about 25 minutes.
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