INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

BREAD
TOPPING
Makes Three 8-inch Babkas
The Cook and Kitchen Staff are offering you some of our best recipes from
"Our Daily Bread" collection. Today's recipe is a traditional Polish Easter
bread.
Please, don't think that you have to wait until April to serve this
delicious bread. It's fantastic as a coffee cake for breakfast or served
with tea for a light snack in the afternoon.
Place yeast in a small mixing bowl and pour warm water over it. Stir with a
spoon to break up the yeast. Set aside for 3 to 5 minutes to proof.
In a small saucepan, scald milk. Add 1 cup butter or margarine, and stir
until melted. Remove from heat and let stand to cool until lukewarm.
In a large mixing bowl, beat 4 eggs and all 4 egg yolks with an electric
mixer. Add sugar and salt, and continue to beat until the mixture is thick
and pale. Add vanilla, orange- flavored liqueur (if used), orange and lemon
zest, and the yeast mixture. Blend again.
Gradually beat in 4 cups flour. Add milk mixture alternately with 4 more
cups flour while beating on medium speed. Add up to an additional 1 cup
flour if the dough is sticky. Mix in currants, raisins, golden raisins, and
almonds.
Transfer dough to a clean large bowl. Knead using a large wooden spoon
until the dough pulls away and doesn't stick to the spoon, about 8 to 10
minutes.
Transfer dough to a large buttered bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with
plastic wrap and place in a warm area until dough rises enough to reach the
top of the bowl, usually about 1 or 2 hours. Punch the dough down, re-cover
the bowl, and allow to rise again.
Lightly butter 3 angel food or ring cake pans. In a small bowl, combine 1
cup flour, 4 tablespoons butter or margarine, brown sugar, and cinnamon to
form crumb topping. Sprinkle evenly between the baking pans.
Punch the dough down again. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead
for 1 minute. Cut into thirds, and transfer dough to prepared pans. Cover
loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise to the top of pan. Beat the
remaining egg, and brush the top of the dough.
Bake in a pre-heated 350-F degree oven until golden brown and hollow
sounding when tapped, about 30 to 45 minutes. Immediately turn out onto a
cooling rack so bread does not stick to the pan. Cool and store in
air-tight bags to preserve. May freeze for up to
90    days.
Kitchen Staff Tips: If you know anyone who may think zest is a bar of soap,
continued in part 2

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“A cheerful spirit is one of the most valuable gifts ever bestowed upon humanity by a kind Creator. It is the sweetest and most fragrant flower of the Spirit, that constantly sends out its beauty and fragrance, and blesses everything within its reach. It will sustain the soul in the darkest and most dreary places of this world. It will hold in check the demons of despair, and stifle the power of discouragement and hopelessness. It is the brightest star that ever cast its radiance over the darkened soul, and one that seldom sets in the gloom of morbid fancies and forboding imaginations.”