JERRY'S POLISH NUTBREAD

        (Jerry's Mother's Polish recipe)

         
        INGREDIENTS
        Yeast mixture
        1/2 cup milk
        1/4 tsp. sugar
        2 packages of dry yeast (Do not use rapid yeast)

        Dough
        1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks)
        1/2 cup sugar
        1 1/2 cups milk
        3 egg yokes (save whites for filling mix)
        6 1/2 cups sifted flour
        1 tsp. salt
        1 tsp. Vanilla extract

        Nut filling
        2 lb. finely ground walnuts
        1 1/2 cup sugar
        8 egg whites

        DIRECTIONS

        Yeast mixture
        In a small sauce pan, warm 1/2 cup of milk and sprinkle in the yeast and sugar. Swirl the milk around in the pan to cover the yeast with the milk. Set aside and let rise for 10 minutes.
         

        Dough
        In a large bowl, cream the butter. Mix in the sugar, salt, vanilla and egg yokes. Stir in the yeast mixture. Gradually and alternately, add the
        6 1/2 cups of flour and 1 1/2 cups of milk, mixing to a dough like consistency. Knead the dough on a floured board for about 10 minutes.

        Grease a large bowl with shortening. Place dough in bowl, brush the dough with shortening, cover with a dish towel and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.

        Nut filling
        In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high, mix the egg whites until the mixture is thick and foamy. Add the sugar and nuts, (raisins if desired) and hand stir till all ingredients are completely mixed. Divide in 8 parts.

        Nut bread
        Separate the dough into 8 parts. On a floured board, roll out the dough into a 12 in. diameter circle (need not be perfect). Spread 1/8 of the nut filling mixture on the dough, keeping the mixture away from the edges and thin at the top of the circle. Starting at the bottom, roll the dough and nut mixture up forming a roll. Place the seam on the bottom and fold the ends under. Place the roll into a lightly greased 8 in. long, 4 in. wide, 2 in. deep bread pan. After all 8 rolls are made and placed in bread pans, cover with dish towels and let rise for 1/2 hour.

        Baking
        In a small bowl, mix 1 egg and 1 tsp. of milk. Brush this mixture on each loaf to give a nice golden brown crust. Bake on top rack at 350 deg. for 45 minutes. Immediately remove from pans and place on wire rack to cool. These can be wrapped and frozen for future use.

        MAKES 8 LOAVES
         
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