1. Soak the fruit in orange juice and flavourings in a medium-sized bowl while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in water—add a tsp of the sugar to feed the yeast.
3. In another medium-sized bowl, melt the butter and add the milk, sugar, salt and lemon peel. Stir to dissolve the sugar, heating a bit more if required. Cool to lukewarm. Add to yeast mixture in the large bowl and add the 2 cups of flour. Mix well and let stand about a half hour for the yeast to work.
4. Stir and mix in eggs, soaked fruit with the liquid, cinnamon and enough flour to make a soft but not sticky dough. Be careful not to add too much flour, or it will be dry. Add the toasted almonds and knead in.
5. Place dough in a large, greased bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow to rise in a warm place until it's doubled.
6. Punch down and divide into 4–6 pieces. (Four makes large loaves and six makes moderate-sized loaves.) Roll each piece into an oval about 3/4 " thick. Brush surface with beaten egg.
7. Take one of the longer sides and fold over almost in half like an envelope. Place on a baking sheet and allow to rise again until almost doubled in size. Brush with beaten egg and bake at about 350° F for about 25–30 minutes or until done. Do not over bake or it becomes dry. When cool, you may sprinkle with icing sugar.
8. Slice and serve.

When you plan to make this recipe, you'll need about 3 hours of rising time in addition to the preparation time.