Savory Easter Bread

Ingredients:

(3) 1lb. loaves of ready-made bread dough, defrosted.

4 links of Fully Cooked Big Fork Maple & Brown Sugar Bacon Sausage, sliced

5 hardboiled eggs, can be decorated

1 egg, uncooked

Directions:

1. Place a pan or deep cookie sheet filled with warm water into the 200° oven, with a rack above it.
2. Roll each loaf of bread out with your hands on a lightly floured surface to produce (3) 24” L x 1.5” wide segments.
3. Pinch the ends of one side of the segments together.
4. Braid bread segments together while stuffing the bacon sausage chunks in between and underneath the dough.
5. Once fully braided, pinch the loose ends together and wrap them around in a circle to make a ring, and pinch together with the other ends. Place on a large greased cookie sheet or skillet.
6. Insert the hardboiled eggs into creases in the braids.
7. Lightly brush the top of the dough with water.
8. Turn the oven off, and place the dough into the oven to rise for at least 1 hour or until bread has risen about 1”.
9. Whisk 1 egg with 3 TBSP of water in a bowl.
10. Remove dough and water pan from the oven and pre-heat to 350°.
11. Lightly brush the top of the dough with the egg wash. Let sit for one minute and repeat.
12. Once oven had reaches 350°, bake the dough for 25 minutes turning once.
13. Cover the top of the bread with aluminum to prevent burning the top and continue to cook for an additional 10 minutes.
14. Remove bread from pan and allow to cool on a rack.