6 loaves of traditional Portuguese sweet bread - you may want to divide the recipe in half.
INGREDIENTS (for 7 servings):
- 3 cups milk
- 1 cup butter
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 5 cups white sugar
- 3 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 12 eggs, beaten
- 16 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons water
PREPARATION:
Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles. Mix in the butter and shortening; stir until melted. Place sugar in a very large bowl, pour milk over sugar and stir until sugar dissolves. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, stir yeast into warm water.
Stir 12 eggs and yeast mixture into milk and sugar; beat well. Pour all of the flour into the milk/eggs/sugar mixture; stir well to combine. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic; about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Deflate dough and let rise again until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into six equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In a small bowl, beat together 1 egg and 2 tablespoons water and brush on the risen loaves. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bottom of loaves sound hollow when tapped.