St.Joseph's Bread is a tradition in many Southern Italian Regions.
Ingredients
1½ cups of warm water
2 packages of dry yeast
2 Tbsp. of shortening
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. oil
2 tsp. salt
1Tbsp. Anise seeds
4½ cups flour
1 egg slightly beaten
Instructions
Combine in a bowl the warm water, yeast, shortening, sugar, oil, anise seeds and salt. Let this sit for 5 minutes.
In a mixing bowl put 2½ cups of flour and add the yeast mixture. Beat together
Yeast bread dough, ready for proving
Yeast bread dough, ready for proving (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
until all ingredients are completely blended. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a dough. Turn dough onto a floured board. Knead in more of the flour to form a stiff and smooth dough. Shape it into a ball. Place it in a greased bowl, cover and let it rise in a warm draft free location until dough doubles in size.
Punch dough down and divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Roll each piece of dough into a 12 inch long rope. Take 3 of the ropes and braid together to form a long braid, you will get 2 loafs of bread. Place on a greased baking sheet, cover and let rise in a warm draft free location until double in size.
Brush top with beaten egg and sprinkle some additional anise seeds over the top of the bread. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cooking sheets and cool on wire racks
Recipe by Gracie's Ravioli at https://graciesravioli.com/feast-of-saint-joseph/