Candy Cane Bread

We've been making Candy Cane Bread in my family for a long time now. Mom used to make the recipe when I was growing up, and I loved it so I took it with me. I've since given the recipe to two of my sisters and back to my Mom after she lost her copy. Somebody always It's delicious stuff, though the resemblance to a candy cane is purely geometric: there's no mint in this bread! And, it's a generous recipe, so there's always plenty to share.

I thought I'd share the recipe:


Candy Cane Bread

2 c sour cream
1/2 c warm water
1 1/2 t yeast
1/4 c water
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c butter
1 t salt
abt 6 c flour

filling
powdered sugar
milk

To make the bread:

Heat the sour cream over low heat until lukewarm. You should be able to put your finger in it comfortably. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in warmed sour cream, water, yeast, butter, sugar, salt, eggs, and about 2 cups of the flour. Beat until smooth.

Mix in the remaining flour, until the bread is easy to handle, but not dry. Knead until smooth and elastic: 10-20 minutes. Let rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a greased bowl until double (about 1 hour). Punch down. Heat oven to 375F. Divide dough into 3 balls, set 2 aside. Roll the 1st ball into a rectanglish oval, leaving the dough about 1/4" thick. With scissors, cut 2" slits down the long sides of the rectangle. It should look something like a thick fringe on both sides. Fill with apple pie filling, blackberry or strawberry jam, or whatever makes you happy. Straight chocolate chips is a little heavy, I don't recommend it. But the fruit fillings are delicious. Apple pie is a fan favorite around here. "Braid" the bread by overlapping the fringes you cut, pulling first from one side then the other. Tuck the bottom fringes in the best you can: they're always difficult. I often end up cutting off 1 or 2 at the very end. Bake 15-20 minutes. Brush with more melted butter, and let cool. Drizzle with thin icing made from powdered sugar and milk. Decorate with holiday M&Ms, M side down, arranged to look like holly, only more delicious.

Repeat with the other 2 balls of dough, then give those away. That's actually probably the most fun part: folks are always so excited to see these coming! You can put them on cake boards covered in tinfoil for a pretty presentation, but build them and frost them on your big cookie sheet: that frosting makes an unsightly mess! Make sure that it's well supported when you transfer it to the tinfoiled cardboard.

Enjoy!