Thea's holiday bread

1. I do not have written instructions...so this is from memory and how I have been making it.

2. Heat the milk and butter on the stove. To this, you will add the dry yeast. Follow the instructions on the yeast packet so you know what temperature to heat the milk/butter to. I suggest melting the butter first, then adding the milk. Keep an eye on the temperature, I always heat it too long and have to wait for it to cool to add the yeast.

3. In a bowl, beat the eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract.

4. SLOWLY (you don't want the eggs to cook) alternate adding the milk/butter/yeast mix and the flour/salt/sugar to the eggs.

5. Beat with a mixer as long as you can. Once the mixer can no longer handle the dough, you can use two table knives to fold in more flour. And then, when it begins to form into a dough ball, you can use your hands.

6. When you have a nice ball of dough in your bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and then a towel. Put it in the warmest place in your house. It should roughly double in size. When the dough is ready, knead back into a ball.

7. The recipe will make 2 big loaves (cut the ball in half) or 4 small ones (cut the ball in quarters). To make the braid, cut your dough into 4 pieces and roll them into equal length strips. Once you have rolled them out, you will want to weave them together (over, under, over). If you start in the middle, and weave each end separately, it is easier.

8. After you have shaped your bread, spread on the glaze (just mix all the ingredients, minus the sesame seeds) with a pastry brush and sprinkle on sesame seeds if desired.

9. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes (depending on loaf size, it may need to cook up to 40 minutes).