I have so many wonderful childhood memories of Easter! Most of my memories (and everyday thoughts) are centered around food. After all, they say that food and memory are very closely linked. Our mom always made a beautiful Italian Easter bread for us to eat Easter morning before church. I can smell and taste it now just thinking of it. We would slather it with butter and wash it down with a cold glass of milk (and probably a million jelly beans and chocolate eggs).
I’m almost positive my grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmother made Italian Easter bread too. I am a very sentimental person who loves, loves, loves family traditions (especially our Italian ones) and so I am always trying to pass as many of them as I can to my girls. Today, I continue the tradition by making an Italian Easter bread for my daughters in the hopes that they will do the same for their families some day. Sadly, I don’t have our family’s original recipe and thus try new ones every now and then. For the past 3-4 years I have been quite happy with a recipe I stumbled upon from Baked by Christina. I wanted to put a link to her recipe here, but when I went to her website, it was gone. I will share her recipe below in the hopes that someone may lead me in her direction so I can give her proper recognition.
This year, I tried a recipe that caught my eye from Brown Eyed Baker. I love that it is an old family recipe from her father-in-law. I’m so so jealous! What drew me to the recipe was its use of orange juice and zest instead of lemon. It made two really fluffy and beautiful loaves. Although the recipe is not as sweet as the one I’ve been using from Baked by Christina, I really really like the addition of the orange and they way the bread rises so nice. I think in the future I will make this new recipe and maybe just add another 1/2 cup of sugar.
Happy Easter! Happy baking! Happy tradition making!
Looking for Easter tablescape ideas? Check out our Mr. McGregor themed table.
Italian Easter Bread
This slightly sweet Italian yeast bread is the perfect way to celebrate Easter.
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 package rapid rise instant yeast
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 5-6 cups flour, divided
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp anise extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 7 uncooked eggs, room temperature, dyed in preferred colors
For the Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp whole milk
- rainbow nonpareils
Instructions
-
Warm the milk in the microwave for 45-60 seconds until just warm, not hot. Add in the yeast and stir. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat together the softened butter and 2 cups of the flour on medium speed until the mixture resembles a sandy texture. Then one at a time, beat in the 3 eggs. Slowly add in the milk/yeast mixture and sugar until combined. Add in the anise extract, vanilla extract, and lemon juice.
3. Using the dough hook, add in the rest (3-4 cups) of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is stiff, and no longer sticky (however, it will be slightly tacky.) Knead dough in the mixer until smooth.
4. Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl, cover with a warm towel , and let rise in a warm place until at least doubled in size (about 1 - 1 1/2 hours).
5. Once fully risen, punch down the dough with your fist. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. On a well-floured surface, roll each portion into a 24 inch long strip. Take the two strips, pinch one of the ends together, twist to form a braid, pinch the other end together , and loop into a circle.
6. Place a dyed egg into each of the criss-crossed areas of dough. Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops of the dough with the melted butter. Cover with a warm towel to rise again for another hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let bread sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then remove and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.
8. Once completely cooled, make the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth and creamy. Add in more milk if consistency is too thick. Brush or pour the glaze onto the top and sides of the bread, and sprinkle on the rainbow nonpareils.
**We never eat the eggs, so we stored our leftover bread wrapped in foil or in an airtight container. If you are going to eat the eggs, wrap bread and store in the refrigerator.
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