Swedish Coffee Braids (Bread) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 (1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup scalded milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup softened Crisco
1 egg, at room temperature and beaten
4 -5 cups white flour or 4 -5 cups bread flour
chopped walnuts
1 egg, beaten (for brushing over each roll before baking)
Filling
melted butter
sugar
cinnamon
walnuts

Preparation

Soften yeast with 1/4 cup warm water and 1/2 tsp sugar and set aside.
In mixing bowl combine scalded milk, sugar, salt and Crisco, cool to lukewarm, and add yeast and 1 of the eggs.
Gradually add flour to form a soft dough.
Knead in remaining flour until smooth and satiny, about 5-8 minutes.
Cover and let rise until double.
Divide dough in two and on a floured surface with a rolling pin roll out each dough to about 12x9 size.
Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar and chopped walnuts.
Starting with 12-inch side, roll up jelly roll style seal seams and ends and place each roll seam side down on cookie sheet (greased).
Take scissors (or knife) and snip part way through each bread roll one inch apart in a tractor tread style.
Cover and let rise again.
Brush both bread rolls with another beaten egg and sprinkle nuts over both.
Bake at 350\u00b0F for about 25 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly and if desired ice with favorite icing recipe.