| 1 | Sponge/dough #1: in a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. |
| 2 | Add flour, and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. |
| 3 | Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. |
| 4 | dough #2 (when dough #1 has risen): in a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. |
| 5 | Add dough #1 (it will have a very loose consistency) to the yeast mix and stir well. |
| 6 | Add the eggs, flour, sugar and stir until well mixed. |
| 7 | Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in vloume, about 1 hour. |
| 8 | dough #3 (when dough #2 has finished rising): in a large bowl, combine eggs, yolks, sugar, honey, vanilla extract, and salt. |
| 9 | Add dough #2, it will have a very loose consistency, and mix well. |
| 10 | Add the softened butter, mix well. |
| 11 | add the 3 cups flour (1 cup at a time) and coninue stirring until the dough has a soft texture, like soft cookie dough. |
| 12 | Turn out on a well floured surface and knead gently, adding the last ?cup flour as needed. |
| 13 | Knead until the dough is soft and smooth and holds it"s shape. |
| 14 | Be careful not to create lumps. |
| 15 | lightly butter a very large bowl, enough to allow the dough to triple in volume. |
| 16 | Place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with the butter, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until tripled, about 3 hours. |
| 17 | filling: (can be mixed while waiting for dough to rise): mix raisins, currants and dried cranberries in a small bowl. |
| 18 | Cover with warm water and allow to soften for 10 minutes. |
| 19 | Drain and pat dry. |
| 20 | Mix in the finely chopped peel and lemon zest. |
| 21 | Set aside. |
| 22 | when the dough has triple in volume, turn out on a lightly floured surface and pat down into an oval or rectangle about ? thick. |
| 23 | Sprinkle half the filling mix over the dough, and roll up jellyroll fashion along the long edge. |
| 24 | Again pat down into an oval shape about ? thick and sprinkle the remaining filing mix over the dough. |
| 25 | Roll up jellyrool fashion along the long edge. |
| 26 | divide the dough into 3 pieces; two pieces should be about 1/3 larger than the third piece. |
| 27 | Butter the bottoms and sides of two 300g coffee cans and one 398ml can. |
| 28 | Line the bottoms and sides with waxed paper. |
| 29 | gently roll the dough into balls and place the two larger pieces into the two larger cans and the small piece into the small can. |
| 30 | Cover with plastic wrap and allow to double in volume, about 2 hours. |
| 31 | Once the dough has risen, cut a small "x" in the top of each loaf and bake in a preheated 400°F (200 c) oven for 10 minutes. |
| 32 | Reduce temp. |
| 33 | To 375°F (190 c) for another 10 minutes. |
| 34 | Again reduce the oven to 350°F (180 c) and bake for 15 minutes loger for the small can and 30 minutes for the large cans; or until a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted into the bread. |
| 35 | cool the breads in their cans on a rack for 30 minutes. |
| 36 | Carefully unmold the breads and lay on their sides, on a rack, until cooled. |
| 37 | Best eaten within 48 hours. |
| 38 | notes: i baked this recipe in 5 ?" high clay flour pots lined with foil. |
| 39 | The recipe filled two pots. |
| 40 | I baked at 400°F for 15 mins. |
| 41 | Then turned the oven down to 325°F for about 50 mins. |
| 42 | The bread was done when a skewer came out clean. |
| 43 | Make sure the butter is well softened or it will be almost impossible to mix in well. |
