Italian Easter Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 package Rapid Rise yeast
- 1.25 cups scalded milk, cooled to room temperature
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3.5 cups flour (approximate)
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
- 6 dyed Easter eggs
- sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large mixer bowl, combine yeast, warm (not hot) milk, salt, butter, eggs and sugar. Add about half the flour and beat until smooth with dough hook. Slowly add the remaining flour to form a stiff dough. Don’t worry about how much flour it ends up being, just keep adding until the dough is not sticky anymore. Knead until smooth with either dough hook attachment or turn out on floured board and knead. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.
- Punch dough down, divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece to form a 1 inch thick rope about 14 inches long and, taking two pieces, twist to form a “braid”, pinching the ends, and loop into a circle.
- Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise until double, about an hour again. Brush each bread with beaten egg wash. Put on the sprinkles. In the middle of each bread ring, gently place an Easter egg, making an indentation with the egg.
- Bake at 350 degrees until golden – about 20 – 25 minutes. Cool on rack.
Are the dye eggs raw or hard boiled when they are placed into the bread?
They will bake in the oven if raw…if they are boiled, they will not be ruined either…I have done it both ways.
So glad you said this, I had made extra hard boiled Easter eggs specifically to make these for the first time….but earlier today realized they had to be raw colored eggs and sent my hubby out for another egg dye kit and dozen white eggs lol! Now I know, either will work!
What kind of flour do you use?
Been making this recipe for years, thank you so much! My grandfather even loves this bread better than my mothers lol!! Thank you for sharing