Božić Pletenica

Ingredients:

• Flour, 600 gr
• Milk (lukewarm), 1 cup
• Instant yeast, 2 envelopes
• Sugar, 200 gr
• Butter (softened), 125 gr
• Eggs, 2
• Salt, a pinch of
• Allspice, 1/4 tsp
• Nutmeg, 1/8 tsp
• Zest (grated), from 1 orange
• Zest (grated), from 1 lemon
• Candied lemon rind (chopped), 60 gr
• Egg yolk (beaten with 1 tbs milk), eggwash

Preparation:

In a small bowl, mix warm milk with yeast. In a separate large bowl, cream together sugar and butter. Add 2 eggs, salt, allspice, nutmeg and zests.

Add yeast mixture and flour. Knead until smooth.

Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled (2 hours).

Punch down dough and divide into three equal pieces. Roll into ropes that are 1 1/2 times the circumference of a 25 cm tube pan.

Braid the three ropes and place in the greased pan, joining the ends (we made it once like a braid and once  like a wreath).

Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.

Heat oven to 180°C Brush bread with the eggwash.

Bake about 40 minutes or until done.

If bread is browning too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.