In a small bowl, stir together the yeast, warm water, and 2 teaspoons of sugar. If you are using an instant-read thermometer, the water should be between 100°–110°F. Set this aside for about 10 minutes, until the yeast becomes bubbly or foamy on top.
Make the dough:
Add the milk to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Allow the milk to heat, stirring frequently, until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan and the milk is steaming.
Add the butter to the scalded milk and stir until melted. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 10-15 minutes. You don’t want the milk to be any hotter than the water you used to bloom the yeast.
Whisk the eggs and add them to the cooled milk mixture.
In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, whisk together 1 cup sugar and the salt. Add the bloomed yeast mixture and the milk mixture.
Turn the mixer to low and slowly add 6 cups of the flour, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
Add the remaining 2 cups of flour, ½ cup at a time, until a very soft, very sticky, but kneadable dough has formed. You may not need the entire 2 cups of flour.
Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface. Knead the dough for about 6-8 minutes, adding more flour as needed until the dough is smooth but still slightly sticky.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick spray. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Shape and decorate the loaves:
When the dough has doubled in size, gently turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Set aside about ¼ to 1/3 of the dough for decorations and divide the remaining dough into two equal portions. Place the dough for decoration back in the greased bowl and recover with the damp towel or plastic wrap.
Grease two 9x2-inch round cake pans or two 10x4-inch loaf pans.
Shape each of the larger dough portions into a round or loaf shape (depending on the shape of your pans) and place into the prepared pans. Cover the pans lightly with a clean tea towel and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
After the loaves have completed their second rise, use the reserved dough to decorate the loaves. Traditional designs include braids, crosses, and spirals. This dough is sticky, so use a bit of flour to coat your hands and work surface as needed while you roll out and create your designs.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Let the decorated loaves rest while the oven preheats.
Bake the loaves at 400°F for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for an additional 40-50 minutes, or until the crust is a deep golden color and the bottom of the loaves sound hollow when you knock on them. If you are using an instant-read thermometer, the internal temperature of the loaves should be 190°F.
Brush the tops of the loaves with melted butter while they are still hot from the oven. Remove the loaves from the pans onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Makes 2 loaves in 9-inch round or 10x4-inch loaf pans.
If you do not have a stand mixer, you can easily mix this dough together by hand with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.
Decorations can be very simple or quite intricate. Highly decorated loaves will require more dough for decoration, while simple decorations will require less.
If you overestimate how much decoration you’ll make on the bread, no problem! You can roll out pieces into long strands and tie them into a knot. Stephanie’s mom adds raisins for eyes on one end and cuts slightly into the other end to make a tail so that it looks like a dove.
If the tops of the loaves or the decorations start to get too brown before the loaves are cooked through, tent the tops or cover the decorations with foil to prevent further browning while the loaves finish baking.
For a deeper golden color, you may brush the loaves with an egg wash (1 egg whisked with 2 tablespoons of water or milk) before putting them in the oven. Note that this will make them brown very quickly, so you will likely need to cover the tops with foil to keep them from burning before the bread is fully baked.