Sweet Bread Wreath

Ingredients:
2 pkg. active dry yeast (5 tsp)
1 1/2 cup warm water
3 3/4-4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar + 1/4 cup sugar (separated)
2 eggs, beaten (although I only needed one)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground anise
1/4 tsp freshly grounded nutmeg

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl. Stir in half of the flour, the oil, salt and sugar(1/2 tsp). Stir in remaining half of the flour to make dough easy to handle. turn dough onto lightly floured surface; kneed about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl; turn greased side up. Cover and let rise in warm place for 20 minutes. [I made the dough and then I had to go to class, so I did this then I refrigerated for approximately 4 hours, but you can refrigerate for up to about 48 hours if you need to,but it recommends not longer than 48 hours.] Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet [I used our round pizza pan]. Divide dough into thirds. roll each third into a rope about 26 inches long. Braid ropes gently and loosely; pinch ends together. shape braid into a wreath on the cookie sheet. Let rise in a warm place for about an hour or until it's doubled in size. Brush wreath with egg. Mix sugar (1/4 c), cinnamon, anise and nutmeg together in a small bowl. Sprinkle on wreath [I did so generously. It added a crispy-ness to the crust]. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

*Funny story: So, because we live in Hawaii, I couldn't find ground Anise; I found Anise seeds (which smell fantastic, by the way). Anyway, I put about a teaspoon and a half into a little baggie and then I put that baggie in another baggie and then I sat on my floor and hammered away at it. It worked just fine. :)