Easter is a time for family, friends, and delicious food. And what better way to celebrate than with a traditional Italian Easter bread? These sweet, soft breads are often braided or twisted, and they're typically filled with candied fruit, nuts, and spices. In this collection, you'll find three easy recipes for Italian Easter bread.
**1. Classic Italian Easter Bread:** This is the most traditional Italian Easter bread recipe. It's a simple, straightforward bread that's perfect for beginners. The dough is made with flour, sugar, yeast, eggs, butter, and milk. It's then filled with candied orange peel, raisins, and almonds.
**2. Braided Italian Easter Bread:** This bread is a bit more challenging to make than the classic version, but it's worth the effort. The dough is braided into a beautiful loaf, and it's filled with a mixture of candied fruit, nuts, and chocolate chips.
**3. Twisted Italian Easter Bread:** This bread is similar to the braided bread, but it's twisted instead of braided. It's also filled with a mixture of candied fruit, nuts, and chocolate chips.
Whichever recipe you choose, you're sure to enjoy this delicious Italian Easter bread. It's the perfect way to celebrate the holiday with family and friends.
EASY ITALIAN EASTER BREAD
This traditional Easter bread is topped with colored raw eggs, which cook as the bread bakes. It makes for a pretty centerpiece.
Provided by Taste of Home
Time 1h
Yield 1 loaf (20 slices).
Number Of Ingredients 16
Steps:
- In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a large saucepan, heat milk and 2 tablespoons butter to 120°-130°. Add dry ingredients; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs; mix well. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down; turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in fruit, almonds and aniseed until blended. Let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into a 24-in. rope. Loosely twist ropes together; place on a greased baking sheet and form into a ring. Pinch ends together. Melt remaining butter; brush over dough. Gently separate ropes and tuck dyed eggs into openings. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes., Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. For glaze, in a bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired consistency; drizzle over bread. Sprinkle with candies if desired.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 172 calories, Fat 5g fat (2g saturated fat), Cholesterol 80mg cholesterol, Sodium 169mg sodium, Carbohydrate 28g carbohydrate (13g sugars, Fiber 1g fiber), Protein 5g protein.
ITALIAN EASTER BREAD (ANISE FLAVORED)
Growing up, this was the best treat of Easter morning (and still is)! One bite of this light, fluffy, sweet bread and you're twelve years old again! Bakery quality in two hours. Try this South Philly Italian tradition and keep the heritage alive...Buona Pasqua a Tutti!
Provided by LadyAnna123
Categories 100+ Breakfast and Brunch Recipes Breakfast Bread Recipes
Time 2h
Yield 10
Number Of Ingredients 10
Steps:
- Mix 1 cup of flour with sugar, salt, and yeast in a bowl, stir well. Place milk and anise extract into a small saucepan over low heat, and warm to about 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). Make a well in the center of the flour mixture with your hand, and pour in the milk mixture; swirl with your hand in a circular motion to combine the flour mixture with the milk mixture. Mix in butter and eggs, one at a time, then mix in remaining flour until dough begins to pull together.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead until soft but elastic, about 8 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth, and let dough rest for 10 minutes; cut dough into halves.
- On floured work surface, roll each half into a ball, then shape the balls into 2 long pieces, about 1 1/2 inches thick and 18 to 20 inches long. Pinch the 2 top ends together, and loosely twist the pieces to form a twisted loaf; pinch the bottom ends together, and tuck the two ends underneath the loaf. (Alternately, form the twist into a ring, and pinch the ends together.)
- Grease a baking sheet, lay the loaf onto the prepared sheet, and cover with a damp towel; let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Brush loaf with beaten egg, and sprinkle with colored decorating dragees.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake the decorated loaf in the preheated oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Watch closely towards the end of the baking time that the bread does not begin to burn. Transfer to wire rack immediately after baking to cool.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 211.5 calories, Carbohydrate 35.4 g, Cholesterol 63.2 mg, Fat 4.6 g, Fiber 1.2 g, Protein 6.6 g, SaturatedFat 2.2 g, Sodium 287.9 mg, Sugar 6.6 g
Tips:
- For a richer flavor, use whole milk and butter instead of skim or low-fat products.
- If you don't have a stand mixer, you can make the dough by hand. Just be sure to knead it for at least 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place for an hour or two, or until it has doubled in size. This will help the bread to be light and fluffy.
- Brush the bread with an egg wash before baking. This will give it a golden brown crust.
- Cool the bread completely before slicing and serving. This will help to prevent it from crumbling.
Conclusion:
Italian Easter Bread is a delicious and festive bread that is perfect for Easter brunch or dinner. It is easy to make and can be customized to your liking. Try adding different spices, herbs, or fruits to the dough to create a unique and flavorful bread. Enjoy!
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