Recipe: Country Egg and Honey Bread

COUNTRY EGG AND HONEY BREAD

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp. oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
4 to 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided use
1 egg, beaten and mixed with 1 tbsp. water (for egg wash)
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Stir in honey, oil, 2 eggs, salt and 3 3/4 cups flour. Turn out onto floured board. Knead dough about 5 minutes, incorporating additional flour, until dough is smooth and elastic.

Coat large bowl with oil. Place dough in bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until almost doubled.

Punch dough down. Pinch off a baseball size piece; set aside. Place larger piece in a round 2 1/2 quart ovenproof bowl or baking dish.

Make indention in top of dough. Brush egg wash over indention. Place small reserved piece of dough inside. Brush the whole dough with egg wash. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let rise until almost doubled.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan.

NOTES: I didn't have any sesame seeds so I left them out. And I took the bread out of the pan and put it on a rack after baking, because, usually the pan will sweat, making the bread soggy around the edges.

From: Lisa, NM, 07-19-97