Easter Bread

Place the flour and salt in a bowl and make a well in the center. Crumble the yeast in, mix with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 6 tablespoons of milk. Sprinkle in some flour. Cover and let sit in a warm place until it doubles in size.

Add remainder of sugar, egg, softened butter in cubes and the grated lemon peel. Combine with the flour, yeast mixture and the remaining milk and knead into a dough using your hands or the kneading hook of an electric mixture. Knead until it stops sticking to the edges of the bowl.  Cover and let sit in a warm place for another 45 mins, until it has doubled in size again.

Briefly knead dough with your hands.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, then sprinkle in the sugar. Mix together the almonds and walnuts and fold into the egg whites, alongwith the oil.

Take slightly less than half of the dough and roll out on a floured surface to form a circle, about 30 cm in diameter (approximately 12 inches). Place on a greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Spread the nut mixture on top. Form the remaining dough into small rolls about the thickness of a finger. Place two or three rolls side by side and make a checkerboard pattern over the nut mixture. Shape into a loaf.

Preheat oven to 200°C (approximately 400°F). Thinly brush the surface of the loaf with melted butter and sprinkle with almond flakes.