Hawaiian Sweet Bread

One of my favorite things to make and eat.

Is there anything as beautiful as rising dough?

So soft, so plump...

So rewarding!

Hawaiian Sweet Bread

1. Combine dry ingredients

2 1/3 cups All-purpose Flour

1/3 cup Sugar

¼ cup Instant Potato Flakes

2 tsp Instant Yeast

¼ tsp (slightly heaped) Salt

Pinch ground ginger

2. Warm slightly on stovetop:

½ cup combination Milk and water (I go on the milkier side)

2 ½ tbsp Butter

1/3 cup Pineapple juice

Note: you'll see white chunks floating around. Don't worry about it; it's normal!

3. Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix thoroughly
4. Add

1 Egg

½ - 1 tsp Vanilla

5. Beat until smooth
6. Knead for 6-8 minutes. It should be soft and beautiful.
7. Rise for about 1¼ hours
8. Shape into loaf and put into loaf pan. This could mean just plopping it into a greased pan. I think the braid is cute and it takes all of ten seconds to accomplish!
9. Rise for about 45 minutes
10. Brush with an egg wash or whatever wash is your favorite. Mine today happened to be the egg/milk/oil/vanilla mixture that was about to become my husband's waffles.
11. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, then another 20 minutes covered loosely with foil (the top will get really dark, really fast otherwise).