Kolach (braided Bread) – We Love God!

Worry is not a trivial sin, because it strikes a blow both at God's love and at God's integrity. Worry declares our heavenly Father to be untrustworthy in His Word and His promises. To avow belief in the inerrancy of Scripture and in the next moment to express worry is to speak out of both sides of our mouths. Worry shows that we are mastered by our circumstances and by our own finite perspectives and understanding rather than by God's Word. Worry is therefore not only debilitating and destructive but maligns and impugns God.

John MacArthur

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Dairy, Eggs, Grains	Russian	Bread/yeast, Christmas, Russian	3	Servings

INGREDIENTS

1	t	Sugar
1	c	Water Lukewarm
2		Dry Yeast
3	T	Sugar
2	c	Milk, About 110 Degrees F.
2		Eggs
1	T	Salt
2	T	Oil Or Melted Butter, You
		Can Use Up To 4 Tbs
8	c	Unbleached Flour, Or More
		If Needed
1		Egg, Beaten With
1	T	Water, For Glaze
2	T	Dry Poppy Seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

Disolve 1 tsp sugar in the water and sprinkle the yeast over it.  Add
1 Tbl of sugar, stir and let stand for 10 minutes.  Combine the yeast
with the milk, lightly beaten eggs, salt, 2 tbl sugar, oil, and 3  cups
of sifted flour.  Beat until smooth.  Cover and let rise in a  warm
place until light and bubbly, about 1 hour.  Mix in enough of  the
remaining flour to make a light, slightly sticky dough, then  knead in
the bowl until smooth and elastic,(Remember the heavier the  dough, the
heavier the bread.) and leaves the sides of the bowl  easily.  Or in
the processor, add the yeast mixture to the flour and  then add the
liquids. With the machine running, add more flour until  a ball forms.
Allow to rest for several minutes. Process until the  dough is smooth
and elastic. Form into a ball and place in a lightly  oiled bowl,
turning once to oil the top. Cover with a linen dish  towl, soaked in
hot water and then wrung out until damp only, and let  rise in a warm
place until double in bulk. Punch down and allow to  rise again,
slightly.  Divide the dough into 3 parts. Divide 1 part  into thirds,
rolling each into a rope 8 to 10 inches long and 1 1/2  inches thick.
Braid together, starting at the middle and turn the  ends under. Repeat
with each of the remaining parts of the dough.  Place the loaves on
buttered baking sheets.  Do not crowd, since the  loaves will double in
size.  Cover with the damp towel and let rise  until almost double.
Brush with the egg glaze and sprinkle with the  poppy seeds.  Bake in a
preheated 375 Degrees F. oven at least 1  hour, or until golden.  Test
by rapping the bottom, there should be a  nice hollow sound.  Cool on
wire racks until cold before cutting.  File
ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/eve.txt

A Message from our Provider:

“God cares”

Confronting other believers in unrepentant sin is an obligation for all Christians (Mt. 18, Gal. 6, Jas. 5, many Proverbs), but it is not a mechanical obligation that should be approached in an impersonal matter. You are dealing with a living soul. Their heart is being held in your hands. You are a fellow sinner yourself. It’s not about winning a duel. It’s about bringing a person back to fellowship with the Lord, back to a place of safety. Like Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:8, we don’t regret the outcome of repentance and their restoration with the Lord, (that’s our goal!), but we do regret the momentary period of the sorrow we inflicted as we share Scriptures, expose sin and call to repentance. Any parent who has rightly disciplined their own child should know what I am talking about. Even though we know it’s the right thing to do, how often do we agree with the saying, “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.”

Randy Smith