Congrats, Kim! Isn't that recipe wonderful?! Were you able to mold it and actually braid it? How sticky was your dough? Mine comes out really sticky, but bakes up wonderfully.

As for the rising time, I warm the eggs in some warm water and also use 1/2 milk and 1/2 hot water for the liquid. That way the dough isn't cold to start with. I also warm the oven a bit first, and put a bowl of almost boiling water in the bottom of the oven. After 40 minutes, the bread has risen a little higher than the top of the pan.

But...sounds like it's almost easier to just put it in the oven overnight and bake it right away in the morning. Mmm! Fresh hot bread to start the day. Yum!