Armenian Yeast Bread

Here is another bread recipe from among the many in Mom's bread recipe box. I don't specifically remember eating this bread as a kid, but this recipe makes a delicious bread. The resulting bread can be served with just about any type of meal, but I think it would be really good with soup or a meal that has sauce that needs to be sopped up. The bread is somewhat flat, but is hearty and strong enough to absorb a good amount of sauce.

When I made this recipe, I cut the amounts in half because I did not want to have too much bread around. I shouldn't have worried about that. MDS and I ate the bread within two days, so next time, I won't hold back, but will instead make the full recipe.

Armenian Yeast Bread 

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 tsp. salt
• 4 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 envelope yeast
• 1/3 cup lukewarm water
• 4 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• sesame seeds
• olive oil

Mix together in a bowl butter, boiling water, salt and 3 tablespoons sugar. Cool to lukewarm. Soften yeast in lukewarm water (about 120 degrees) and stir into butter mixture. Beat in two cups of flour and blend thoroughly. Add remaining two cups flour. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for about ten minutes, adding more flour as needed or coat hands with olive oil is dough is too sticky. Place dough in a greased bowl and let rise in a warm place free from drafts for about two hours or until doubled. Punch down; divide and shape into four balls. Cover and let stand for 15 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, flatten and roll out to a circle about seven inches in diameter. Used fingers to create dimples or pattern on top of bread. Brush tops with a mixture of milk and one tablespoon of sugar. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Put bread on ungreased baking sheet. Let rise again for about 90 minutes or until doubled. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Allow to cool. Enjoy!