Egg Bread

Ingredients

• 4 3/4 to 5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs

Instructions

1. Combine 2 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, margarine or butter, and salt till warm (120° to 130°) and margarine almost melts. Add to flour mixture along with eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
2. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (6 to 8 minutes total). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once to grease surface. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double (about 60 minutes).
3. Punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Lightly grease two 8x4x2-inch loaf pans. Shape each half of dough into a loaf. Place in pans. Cover and let rise till almost double (about 30 minutes). Bake in a 375° oven for 25 to 30 minutes or till done. Cover loosely the last 10 to 15 minutes of baking, if necessary. Remove from pans; cool.
4. Cinnamon-Swirl Egg Bread: Prepare Egg Bread as above, except instead of shaping into loaves, on a lightly floured surface, roll each half of dough into a 12x7-inch rectangle. Brush lightly with melted butter. Combine 1/3 cup sugar and 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; sprinkle half of the sugar-cinnamon mixture over each rectangle. Roll up from one of the short sides. Seal edge and ends. Place, seam side down, in greased loaf pans. Let rise and bake as at left. If desired, drizzle warm loaves with Powdered Sugar Icing (see recipe, page 88). Makes 2 loaves (32 servings).
5. Raisin Egg-Bread Braid: Prepare as above, except add 2 cups raisins when stirring in flour with a spoon. (If desired, first plump the raisins by covering them with water in a saucepan. Bring to boiling. Remove from heat and let stand for 4 minutes. Drain.) When dough is punched down after first rising, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into six portions. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Roll each portion into a ball. Roll each ball into an evenly thick rope about 16 inches long. Line up three of the ropes, 1 inch apart, on a greased baking sheet. Starting in the middle, braid by bringing left rope underneath center rope; lay it down. Then bring right rope under new center rope; lay it down. Repeat to end. On the other end, braid by bringing outside ropes alternately over center rope to center.