mamma's russian christmas sweet bread

Instructions ? Add all of the ingredients EXCEPT for the raisins, peel, citron and almonds, to the bread machine, in the order listed above. If you are baking the bread in the bread machine, select Sweet Cycle. Add the raisins, peel, citron and almonds at the “add ingredient” signal. OR I did not bake my bread in the bread machine, so I selected the “Dough” cycle. Here’s How To: When the dough cycle is up, remove the dough, and knead in the raisins, cherries and almonds. Then let the dough sit on a floured surface for 15 minutes, covered with a bowl. After this time, split the dough into 3 pieces, and roll it out into long ropes, about 1 inch thick. On a parchment lined baking sheet, braid the ropes, pinching the ends together. Let it rise, in a warm place covered with a tea towel, for 30-45 minutes, or until doubled in size. In the meantime preheat your oven to 350. When the dough has doubled in size, you can add an egg wash to make the crust shiny. Just mix together 1 tbsp water with 1 egg yolk, and brush the surface of the bread. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes – until the bread sounds hollow when you tap the bottom. Notes Instead of the candied peel and candied citron, I added a generous ½ cup of chopped glace cherries.