The Modern Nonna

16 Note: for best results, it's recommended you grab a food scale and weigh everything out in grams. 
1 Warm the milk on the stove until lukewarm, make sure the butter is melted in a separate pot as well.
2 To a mixing bowl, add the yeast, warm milk, and honey. Let it foam up and activate. If it doesn’t activate, you need to start this step all over.
0 To another big bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar and orange zest until it looks pale and foamy. Next, sift in the flour and salt. 
15 Now, pour in the activated yeast mixture and mix well until a tacky dough. 
4 Note: the dough should be tacky (not dry and not wet) cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit for 45 min.
5 After 45 minutes, with a wet hand, grab the bottom of the dough, gently stretch it up and fold it over. Rotate the bowl 45 degrees and repeat this step until fold all four sides making sure to always grab from the bottom folding each piece over the top.
6 Cover it again, repeat this process 2 more times. So in total, you will stretch the fold 3 times making sure to wait 45 minutes in between (a total of 2.25 hours).Example: wait 45 min, stretch and fold. Cover and wait 45 min again, stretch and fold. Lastly, cover, wait 45 minutes, stretch and fold and proceed to the next step below ⬇️. 
7 Now, pour out the dough onto a lightly floured counter. You can flour the top a little as well. You don't need a lot of flour, just a light dusting so that it doesn't stick. 
8 With a rolling pin, roll it out into a circle ⭕️ making sure it's thin. 
9 Once rolled out, spread on the softened butter 🧈 Note: feel free to add raisins, chocolate or any other filling as well.
10 Once the butter is spread, grab the bottom of the dough and begin to roll it away from you forming a long rope.
11 Now, grab the rope in the middle with your hand and make a two piece braid by intertwining each side. 
12 Place the braided dough into a big loaf pan, cover it and let it rise all the way to the top. This can take anywhere from 5-8 hours. I like to leave mine in a warm spot away from drafts overnight so that I can bake it the following morning.
13 When the bread has filled up the loaf pan and risen to the top, uncover it, sprinkle with sugar and bake in a preheated 350F (180C) degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until light brown.
14 Once baked, take it out of the oven, let it rest and enjoy!