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1
Mix first five ingredients (yeast, small amount sugar, salt, one egg, warm milk) in a large bowl.
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2
Cover and leave in a warm place for 40 minutes.
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3
Put raisins in rum to cover, and set aside to soak.
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4
Grate and juice the lemons.
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5
Set aside.
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6
Sift 4 of the five pounds of flour onto a large tray or other work surface.
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7
(You can estimate- does not need to be precise.).
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8
Melt butter and combine with oil.
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9
Heat 2 cups of milk and sugar on low in a small saucepan until warm.
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10
Separate 4 of the eggs; set aside the yolks for brushing.
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11
Beat the whites with the other 7 eggs.
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12
Add a handful of the flour from the work surface to the warm yeast mixture.
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13
Bit by bit, mix in with a spoon the rest of the flour, the milk mixture, the beaten eggs and the butter/oil mixture.
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14
When most of it is together, mix in the lemon juice and zest, and the vanilla.
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15
Adding more flour to the work surface if necessary, dump out the dough and knead until it holds together well.
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16
Let the dough rest in a warm place until double in bulk (1-2 hours).
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17
You may need to divide between two bowls.
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18
Punch down and knead the dough.
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19
Drain the raisins and dredge in flour.
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20
Work about half of them into the dough as you knead, a few at a time.
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21
Let the dough sit and rise again (another 1-2 hours).
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22
Preheat oven to 425 (400 if your oven runs hot).
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23
Punch down and knead again.
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24
Divide the dough into 8 parts.
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25
Each of these, divide into three parts; roll them long and braid into a single loaf.
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26
While braiding, work the remainder of the raisins between the strands.
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27
Brush the loaves with the reserved egg yolk and stud the top with nuts.
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28
Bake the loaves about 30 minutes or until golden brown.
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29
(We usually did about 3 loaves at a time.) You can also use the dough to make smaller rolls, if you prefer; bake for proportionally less time.
