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1
Sift the flour in a really large container or pot. You'll be adding all of the ingredients here.
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2
In the middle of the flour you clear a well to add the rest of the ingredients.
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3
Dissolve the yeast in a 3/4 full cup of warm milk (100 degrees Fahrenheit) with a spoonful of sugar for proofing it. Keep it in a warm place until it starts rising.
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4
In a separate bowl, whisk together 5 of the eggs (save 1 egg for the glaze), remaining milk, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract and cognac.
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5
After the yeast has doubled or tripled in volume, add it to the well in the flour along with the egg mixture.
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6
Mix all the ingredients together using a wooden spoon until it's all really well blended.
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7
Heat up the butter. Dab your fingers in the butter and start kneading the dough together, gradually adding more and more butter to it.
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8
You need to really knead this dough, stretch it out, add some butter and fold it in two or three times. Then repeat. Every few times, fold it into a ball and pound it on the table. By the end you should have a really smooth dough that doesn't stick to your hands and has small bubbles of air.
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9
Sprinkle some flour on top and put the dough in a bowl in a warm place for it to rise (double in volume).
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10
The dough should rise within 2 hours. If you have more time you can also put the bowl in the fridge and let it rise overnight. The low temperatures slow down the yeast so by doing that you're extending the rise time to 8-9 hours.
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11
After it has doubled in size, you once again heat up some butter and start breaking small balls from the dough and kneading it again. If you'd like to add raisins, walnuts or turkish delight, mix the pieces in during this stage.
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12
Divide the dough into two main parts, then divide each part into 3 balls. Stretch out the balls to turn them into long round strips. You'll use them to braid the dough.
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13
Stick together the tops of the three strips and braid the bread just like you make a hair braid. You should end up with a nice braid with 4 segments on each side.
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14
Tuck the last part of the braid underneath itself and place the whole thing in a buttered and floured loaf form. Repeat for the second loaf.
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15
Let the bread rise in the form a second time by covering it with a towel and letting it stay in a warm place. This should take an hour.
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16
Separate the yolk of the last egg and whisk with a tablespoon of water. Glaze the top of the breads, then sprinkle with the decorating sugar.
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17
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out without any dough sticking to it. If the top starts browning too soon, cover with foil.
