St. Joseph's Bread

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups of the flour, yeast, honey, hot water, salt, butter and anise seeds. Mix into a smooth batter. Stir in the golden raisins, and beat for another 10 minutes, gradually adding flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. You may not need to use all of the flour. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Grease a baking sheet and dust with cornmeal. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and punch out all of the air. Roll into a long tight loaf, and place seam side down onto the prepared baking sheet. Use a sharp serrated knife to make 3 or four diagonal slashes on the top. Cover with a tea towel, and let rise until double in size, about 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mist the loaf with water of vinegar before baking, and twice during.
5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the crust is golden brown, and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

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Reviews (4)

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12

Mallinda

Mar. 18, 2008

" I doubled the recipe and made a traditional loaf and the loaf shape described here. The bread has an unusual taste because of the anise seed and is kind of like eating soft pizzelles. I think I wou..." See moreld add more raisins next time to better balance the anise taste. The crust is chewy without being crisp and is very nice. It's definitely an out of the ordinary bread. I served it with homemade butter."

11

cathyt

Mar. 19, 2009

"I don't normally care for anise, but I enoy it in this bread. In my home we make this bread for St. Joseph Day, March 19!..." See more"

1

maryg

Mar. 17, 2013

"This a great-tasting bread and very easy to make. I will be making it again this year on Mar.19, in honor of St. Joseph. It is a tradition in the small Western NY town I grew up in...." See more"