Recipe(tried): Christmas Bread Dolls

EUROPEAN AND SOUTH AMERICAN CHRISTMAS BREAD DOLLS:

Many European and South American countries make dolls of sweet yeast dough to delight children at Christmas breakfasts and dinners.

IN ECUADOR AND GUATEMALA these carefully modeled dolls are decorated with brilliantly colored sugar icing.

IN PERU bright feather headdressses are often added--a touch that makes the dolls look like something the INCAS might have used to celebrate one of their own festivals.

THE SWISS GRITTIBANZ vary in size from 8 inches to 2 feet and wear braids or ALPINE hats and leather shorts and, like the amusing FINNISH DOLL FACES, the PULLAUKKOJA, are decorated only with raisins or currants to mark their eyes, noses, mouths and buttons.

2 envelopes dry yeast (2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon flour

1 1/4 cups scalded milk
1 cup (1/2 pound) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
Grated rind of 1 lemon; OR 1 teaspoon vanilla; OR 1 1/2 teaspoon mixed powdered spices to taste; OR 1 teaspoon crushed anise: OR 1/2 teaspoon powdered cardamom
6 to 7 cups flour about

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon milk for glaze
1 egg white, beaten
Raisins, currants, or Decorative Sugar Icing*

Sprinkle yeast into LUKEWARM water, add 1 tablespoons sugar and 1 tablespoon flour stir, cover loosely and set aside in a warm place for 5 to 10 minutes, or until foamy. If it does not foam your yeast might be stale. Get some fresh yeast and start again.

SCALD milk, add butter and stir over low heat until butter melts. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and salt. COOL to lukewarm. ADD to yeast mixture with eggs, flavoring and HALF the flour. Mix well until free of lumps. Gradually beat in as much remaining flour as necessary to make a dough that is smooth enough to begin to leave the sides of the bowl, but one that is still VERY SOFT AND PLIABLE.

Place dough in a clean bowl, cover loosely with waxed paper and chill in refrigerator 5 to 6 ours, or overnight. Punch dough down the first two or three times it rises.

Punch dough down, knead 2 or 3 minutes and divide into portions large enough to make the size dolls you want. Shape into dolls or faces. Remember that this dough will swell, so make ARMS and LEGS THIN enough. Pat or roll into shapes with your hands. Attach heads, arms, legs, etc., with milk so they will stick.

Place on BUTTERED baking sheets, cover loosely and set to rise in a draft-free corner until not quite doubled in bulk--about 30 minutes.

Brush with hot water and bake in preheated 350 degrees F. oven for 1 hour, or until golden brown and done. Sprinkle with hot water once or twice during baking. Five minutes before end of baking time, brush dolls with egg yolk glaze and continue baking until done. Stick raisins or currant eyes, nose, mouth and buttons on with beaten egg white while dolls are hot.

Dolls that are to be decorated with icing must first be completely COLD.

Makes about eight 8-inch dolls, or 15 to 20 Finnish doll faces.

DECORATIVE SUGAR ICING*

This is used for various cookies, the Gingerbread House, Lucia Ginger Snaps, the Gingerbread Men and BREAD DOLLS.

Prepare Royal Icing below, ELIMINATING GLYCERIN.

When whites are beaten into stiff shiny peaks, divide and color each portion as you wish. Half fill a pastry tube fitted with a narrow tube and pipe design onto cookie or cake, holding tip of tube 2 to 3 inches from surface of cookie. OR spread icing with a warm knife to cover large areas like the roof of the gingerbread house or the complete surface of cookies. This hardens quickly, so if you want to top the icing with colored sugar or sprinkles, do so at once.

ROYAL ICING:

3 egg whites
Pinch of salt
3 1/2 to 4 cups confectioners' Icing sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon glycerin
Food coloring (optional)

Beat egg whites, salt, 3 cups sugar, lemon juice and glycerin (leave out for Decorative sugar icing for bread dolls) until mixture stands in stiff peaks. Add more sugar only if necessary to make the paste stiff. Mix in food coloring, dividing batch in portions beforehand if you want more than one color. Spread on cake in thin layers, letting each dry before adding the next. Makes 2 cups, or enough for top and sides of 8-inch cake.