I thought, I'd give you a short rehash of yesterday plus a vague recipe. So yesterday a friend had all of us over for brunch, which was simply nice and I think it has to be repeated even without an occasion, though probably scaled down. We went at 11 o'clock and at 6 o'clock we noticed the time and left; that alone should tell you plenty about the day :) Later we had visitors over for soup and watching Alias, which was a perfect quiet end to a smashing Sunday.
The day started with me baking my mom's Easter plait, for with I'll try to give you recipe. It's not that easy an undertaking, because my Mom is the queen of "so halt" (which is German for like THIS). This means I never saw a written down recipe with actual quantities, but on the other hand she taught me baking and cooking is all about consistency and the right feel of things instead of sticking to the right amount of flour. Enough of the preface, here is the recipe:
Pour the flour into a bowl and make a big indentation in the middle. Crumble the yeast into it and add the lukewarm water. Mix with a fork, whisking in an bit of the flour. Let proof for 15 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and mix using an egg whisk. Knead for approximately 10 minutes until the dough is smooth, while adding more milk if it is too dry after thorough kneading or more flour if it is too sticky. Cover with a clean cloth and let proof for additional 30 to 60 minutes. Then divide in three equal parts, roll them into a sausage form and plait while pressing the ends together. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and bake until golden brown and firm. To prevent burning your Easter plait to a crisp you may cover it halfway through baking with aluminium foil. Brush milk onto the still hot plait and let it cool.
Be proud of yourself and have a victory dance in your kitchen (and cut yourself a still warm slice and enjoy it with ham or jam. Yummy).