Pao Doce (A Portugese Easter Bread)

Today I tried a new bread, a holiday bread but not one appropriate for December.  It's an Easter bread from Portugal and the Azores.  It's super easy to make and yummy with a nice homemade jam- I had plum on hand.  I found this recipe from Country Living.  I've made this recipe twice- once with safflower because I didn't have any saffron and once with saffron, and let me tell you, it's way better with saffron.  The flavor is way more intense with saffron.

Pao Doce

Country Living

INGREDIENTS   

1/4 teaspoon(s) saffron, crumbled
1 cup(s) warm water
2 package(s) dry active yeast
1/2 cup(s) sugar
2 tablespoon(s) sugar
3-4 3/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
4 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter, softened
3 large egg yolks
1 large egg

BAKING PANS: 2 medium (9"-x-5") baking pans, greased or Teflon

Steep the saffron in the warm water for 10 minutes in a small bowl. 
 Combine the yeast, the 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 cup flour and 2/3 cup of the saffron water in a good-sized bowl. Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

Coat a large bowl with the butter and set aside. Stir the yeast-and-flour sponge down with a wooden spoon and stir in the 1/2 cup sugar, the remaining saffron water, egg yolks, whole egg, and remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time. Continue to stir until a very sticky dough forms.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, form it into a ball, and transfer it to the prepared bowl, turning to coat all sides with butter. Cover with a clean, damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until the dough doubles in volume, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425F. Punch the dough down and divide it in half. Form both halves into loaves and place in two pans. Cover with the damp towel and let rise until doubled in volume, about 20 minutes.

Bake in the lower third of the oven until loaves are golden and sound hollow when tapped, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.