Sofia's Bread Recipe, Revised

When I baked Grandma Sofia’s Finnish bread for our reunion, I had to make some revisions. I don’t know whether it’s because modern flour is drier, or modern yeast is more reliable, or what, because I have used the original recipe in the past, but this time I almost broke Sandy's stand mixer trying until I revised the recipe. Here's how I do it now:

2 C. milk

½ C. butter

1 cake, or one package, or one Tablespoon of yeast

1 C. sugar

½ tsp. ground cardamom

½ tsp. salt

4 egg yolks, beaten

6 cups of flour; add more only as needed (the original recipes uses 8 cups).

Melt the butter in the milk in the microwave. That takes about 45 seconds. If the milk gets hot, allow it to cool to lukewarm (a drop on the inside of your wrist will not feel hot).Stir in each of the other ingredients, adding the flour gradually, to make a stiff dough.  Knead very well. A well-kneaded dough will feel smooth and cool. I work  mine in a stand mixer with a dough hook for a full 10 minutes.  Grease the inside of a large bowl with butter, shortening, or Pam. Drop the ball of dough in and turn it over so the dough is greased and will not get dry on the outside.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until it is doubled in bulk. Unlike Sofia’s recipe, this will not require over night, but still takes a couple of hours. Punch the dough down and divide it into two balls.  Divide each ball into three ropes 1” in diameter, braid the ropes, and place the resulting loaves on a greased cookie sheet. Using a pastry brush, grease the dough again, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and allow to rise, until, again, it is doubled in bulk. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 35 minutes or until your digital thermometer says 180 degrees F.

Five minutes before the cooking time expires, remove the cookie sheet from the oven (but keep the oven door shut to keep the heat in). Working in small sections of the loaves at a time, first brush the loaf with either a beaten egg white or  whole egg, then sprinkle the brushed part quickly with granulated sugar.  Return the loaves to the oven for the last five minutes for the glaze to dry. Cool the loaves on a cooling rack, but definitely enjoy a slice while it’s still warm.