Sowing Bread (Sakaka)

By norsegal8

In old Sweden, it was a tradition to make an elaborately shaped loaf of bread encircled with a braid and decorated with curlicues, using grain from the past season. This fancy loaf became the centerpiece of the holiday table. It was not eaten. After the holidays were over, the bread was buried beneath the grain reserved for sowing in the spring. At sowing time, it was broken into pieces, soaked in a homemade beer, and distributed among all of the members of the household (including the family horse)to assure a rich harvest in the coming season. Today, only the tradition of the fancy loaf remains, and it is an excellent choice for a holiday coffee party menu. The historic sowing loaf wasn't as rich as this one.

Ingredients

• GLAZE:
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water, (105 to 115 degrees)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup light cream or half and half, scalded and cooled to room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 slightly beaten egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• coarse sugar
• ICING:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 to 3 tablespoons brandy

Preparation

Step 1

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water; add the teaspoon of sugar, stir and let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast foams. Add the cream, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, cardamom, eggs and half the flour. Beat with an electric mixer until the dough is smooth and shiny. Beat in the melted butter. Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time until the dough is stiff but not dry. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until satiny and smooth, about 10 minutes. Wash the bowl, grease it and add the dough to the bowl, turning over to grease all sides. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Cut off about 1/3 of the dough and reserve. Knead the remaining dough to makea smooth ball.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the smooth ball of dough onto the prepared pan and press doen until the dough is no more than 1-inch thick, making a circle about 12 inches across. With the tip of a sharp knife, make cuts 1 1/2 inches into the round and 1 inch apart around the outside edge of the dough on the pan. Brush all over with egg mixed with milk.

Divide the reserved dough into 3 parts. Between the palms of hands and alightly floured surface, roll out each part to make long, skinny ropes 30 to 34 inches long. Braid the roped together. Lift the braid onto the dough on the cookie sheet, forming a wreath about 2 inches in from the edge of the loaf. With a sharp knife, trim the ends of the braid and and pinch together to seal. Brush with egg glaze. Roll the trimmings out to make strands 4 to 6 inches long, roll up into curlicues, and place in the center of the braid on top of the bread. Let rise in a warm place until the loaf is puffy.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Before baking, brush the loaf again with egg wash, and sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the loaf is golden. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack. While still hot , drizzle with a mixture of powdered sugar and brandy.