Ingredients:

• 2 kilos of flour
• 1 tsp of salt
• 2 tbsp of dry yeast
• 1 cup of lukewarm warm water
• 1 cup of warm red dry wine
• 1/2 a cup of olive oil
• 1/2 a cup of orange juice
• 1/4 cup of brandy
• 2 tsp of grated orange zest
• 1 1/2 cup of sugar (1 cup if honey is used)
• 1/2 a cup of honey (Optional)
• 1 cup of raisins
• Dry fruits, figs and plumbs (Optional)
• 1 cup of walnuts coarsely crushed
• 1 cup of almonds coarsely crushed or pine nuts
• 1 tbsp of pounded mastic resin or 1 tbsp of crushed anise seeds
• 1 tsp of powder cinnamon
• 1 tsp of powder cloves
• 1/4 tsp of powder nutmeg
• 1 tsp of coriander seeds well crushed
• 1/2 a tsp of cardamom seeds crushed

Topping ingredients:

• Milk
• 1 whole walnuts
• Sesame seeds

Method:

• Mix the yeast in 1/2 a cup of warm water and 2 tbsp of flour, stir until dissolved and set aside in a warm place until it bubbles.
• In a large mixing bowl, sift the salt with 2/3 of the remaining flour.
• Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture, the warm water and wine.
• Mix until a soft dough forms, cover with plastic wrap and a damp towel, and set aside to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in size.
• Punch the dough down and knead for several minutes until any air pockets are gone.
• Sift in the remaining flour, add the oil, orange juice, brandy, and grated orange peel.
• In a small bowl, mix the sugar, raisins, crushed walnuts, crushed almonds or pine nuts, (opional dry fruits), mastic resin or anise, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cardamom and nutmeg until blended and add to the dough.
• Knead well for about 10 minutes or until the dough is firm and doesn’t stick to your hands.~ Cover with a kitchen towel and set it aside to rise for about 1/2 an hour.
• Line with parchment paper a baking tray and lightly brush with oil.
• Shape the bread into two circular loaves about 8 inches in diameter, keeping a fistful of dough for decoration.
• Cover the loaves with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise until you prepare the decorations.
• When the loaves have risen, use the small pieces of dough to create designs.
• Roll them out into strips and coil around whole walnut pressed into the top, or make them into the shapes of your choice and place on top of the loaves like is shown in the slides.
• Cover with plastic wrap, a dry cloth and a damp cloth over that, and place in a warm place to rise again, until is about doubled in size.
• Brush the bread with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 1 1/2 hours.
• Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.