Santa Lucia’s Braided Bread

 

Link to the recipe at the Family Fun site is here.  My only change was to add 1/4 tsp. of pure orange extract to the glaze because I thought it wasn’t flavored enough with just orange juice. 

I’d also like to try decreasing the recipe so that it fits in my bread machine.  This does make a huge amount of dough, so half the recipe would be enough for one meal or snack-time for our family.  I suppose if I’d have known ahead of time or actually read through the recipe last week, I could have made two rings and frozen one for later.  This time, we are just enjoying the leftover.

While I’d considered making the bread last week, I wasn’t prepared and it’s just been so hectic.  So, this was a little last minute… didn’t start on the dough until after lunch (I’m just too needed in the school-room until at least lunch/dinner).  It wasn’t baked until about 4pm and I frosted it before it was cooled because I’m just soooo impatient – and it smelled incredibly wonderful.

So, to celebrate the Feast of St. Lucy, we ate this wonderful bread and listened to her story – all because there happened to be a reminder to ‘read a story about the saint for today’ in Zeke’s syllabus.  No dressing up, no candles, no waking up early, just thankful to be reminded of our beautiful faith and trying to live it out in the smallness of our day.