You can follow the almond blanching process that I mentioned here or here to blanch the almonds.
Soak the raisins in water for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Yeast Proofing
In a bowl or measuring mug, add the Luke warm milk and sugar and yeast.
Let it sit for 10 minutes.
Preparing the Dough
In a wide bowl add the sifted flour, sugar, salt, butter, and raisins and mix them until it is all combined.
Now slowly add the yeast-milk and combine to form a dough.
Knead the dough for 10 minutes.
Transfer this dough to wide bowl greased with oil and cover it with a cling wrap and set aside until the dough has doubled in size. It took me about 2 hours this time.
Braiding
Once the dough has raised take it out from the bowl and divide it into nine equal parts.
Using the hands roll out each piece into similar sized strands.
First, we need to take four strands and braid them and then the three and then two and place the three braids on top of four and two on top of three.
For the four braids, I followed this video.
After this braid the three strands in a regular way and the for the last two twist like below.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place the four strand braid first and then carefully the three braided one and then the two-strand twist.
Let this sit for 30 minutes for one more rise.
Baking
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 Deg F.
After 30 minutes, place the blanched almonds either between the braids or on top like below.
Brush the bread with milk and cover it with aluminum foil.
Bake the bread covered for 40 minutes. (As you can see, my top layer is now along with the second tier)
Now remove the foil and bake again for ten more minutes.
Let it cool completely and dust it with powdered sugar and slice them.
Notes
The self-rising flour is optional; you can use APF instead.
Also please add your favorite dry fruits for this recipe.
While baking uncovered, keep an eye on the bread and don’t let it brown too much.