St. Joseph's Day Bread

Saint Joseph was Mary's husband and the adoptive father of her child, Jesus. A poor carpenter, he did all he could to raise this Child with love and caring. Every March 19th, Italians everywhere celebrate the role Joseph had in raising Jesus and caring for his family. This is a lovely traditional bread posted from an online source in response to a recipe request. The hard work could be done in a bread machine on the dough cycle. Prep time is approximate.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 35 mins
• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 3  cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1  tablespoon honey
• 2⁄3 cup hot water
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 2  tablespoons butter
• 3  tablespoons anise
• 1⁄3 cup golden raisin
• 1  tablespoon cornmeal

Directions

1. Stir together in a large bowl 1 1/2 cups of the flour, yeast, honey, hot water, salt, butter and anise seeds and mix into a smooth batter.
2. 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.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
4. Knead for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky (you may not need to use all the flour).
5. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, and turn to coat.
6. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
7. Grease a baking sheet and dust with cornmeal.
8. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and punch down.
9. Roll into a long tight loaf, and place seam side down onto the prepared baking sheet.
10. Use a sharp serrated knife to make 3 or four diagonal slashes on the top.
11. Cover and let rise in warm place until double in size, about 30 minutes.
12. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
13. Mist the loaf with water of vinegar before baking, and twice during.
14. 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.