Portuguese sweet memories

Well....
Here I sit- being the laziest laze you've ever met. I have my laptop on my lap- my kindle by my side and the TV on playing "Extremem Makeover Home Edition". I have nothing to say for myself other than......I love winter?

Annnyywayyyy
Sunday was fast Sunday. And I had that feeling. The one where you are so grateful for such a great opportunity to fast for friends and family who need a little extra help from our Father in Heaven....but you are starving! So of course I decided that making food would help. What to make was the next question. I flipped through my family recipe book (got a good recipe that's just your? I'd Love it!) and found exactly what I needed-- Portuguese Sweet Bread.

This is no normal sweet bread- this is the most fantastically sweet, succulent, soft, chewy, melt in your mouth goodness bread.

When I was little my mom would make this gorgeous bread and I'd watch her big, strong hands knead the bread over, and over, and over. She would throw her whole body into that bread, concentrating so hard and pounding the dough until it was smooth and thick. Sticking her tongue out she would wave us all over and every girl would knead the bread- our much tinier hands punching the dough until it seemed our arms would fall off!

Then she would roll out the soft goop and shape it into the beautiful snail shell shape we knew meant heaven in your mouth. After brushing a little egg over the top it would go into the over and for the next 30 minutes we were tortured by the wonderful scent of Portuguese sweet bread.

Though my experience was not nearly as romantic, it was full of delicious memories! Oh yeah, and I finally figured out why my mom always insists on stirring and kneading by hand--perfect way to get rid of excess energy, anger, annoyance...and hunger :)