Italian Easter Bread Recipe

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Italian Easter Bread adds meaning, tradition, and sweetness to your holiday table. Its soft, sweet dough and symbolic design make it a stunning centerpiece, whether you use colored or uncolored eggs. Bake it once, and it may become your new Easter tradition!

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Rising time2

Total Time2 50

Servings: servings

Ingredients

Dyed eggs

5 eggs
food coloring
8 teaspoon white vinegar

Dough

4 cups (500 grams) bread flour ((plus extra flour as needed))
½ cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar
⅓ cup finely chopped candied orange peel (commercial or home-made)
2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast (or instant yeast)
1 teaspoon anise seeds ((or more according to taste))
½ teaspoon salt
1¼ cups (300 ml) whole milk
2 eggs (at room temperature)
½ cup (115 grams) unsalted butter (at room temperature)

Egg wash

1 egg
1 teaspoon water

Icing

1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons water

To decorate

colored sprinkles

Instructions

To color the eggs

Color two eggs of red, blue and green and one of yellow in the following method.
5 eggs
For each color - spoon two teaspoons of white vinegar and 20 or 30 drops of food coloring into a small bowl.
food coloring, 8 teaspoon white vinegar
Add one cup of hot water from the kitchen tap.
Carefully place required number of eggs into the colored hot water.
Spoon colored water over the eggs and move them around in the water until colored which should only take 5 minutes.
Set on paper towels to dry.
Allow to dry for one hour before use.

To make the dough (See Notes if making by hand)

Grind anise seeds with mortar and pestle as finely as you can. Place the ground anise seed into a bowl of a stand mixer together with bread flour, sugar, orange peel, and instant dried yeast.
4 cups (500 grams) bread flour, ½ cup (100 grams) granulated white sugar, ⅓ cup finely chopped candied orange peel (commercial or home-made), 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 teaspoon anise seeds, ½ teaspoon salt
Warm milk until just tepid. Add the milk and eggs into the mixing bowl. Attach the dough hook and turn the mixer on slowly allowing the mixer to knead the dough for 10 minutes or until soft and elastic.
1¼ cups (300 ml) whole milk, 2 eggs
Add the butter, one tablespoon at a time until well incorporated. If the dough is very sticky add more of the additional flour. Continue mixing until smooth and elastic and no streaks of butter can be seen.
½ cup (115 grams) unsalted butter
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled about 1 ½ hours.

To shape and bake the bread

Line a large baking sheet with non-stick parchment paper. Set aside until needed.
Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into three equal portions. Roll out each into a long (about 24 inches/60cm) rope.
Plait and carefully twist into a ring, join the ends together, and place onto prepared baking sheet.
Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until double again which should only take about 30 minutes.
In the meantime preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC.
Prepare the egg wash by whisking the egg with water in a small bowl. Set aside until needed.
1 egg , 1 teaspoon water
When the shaped dough has risen, brush carefully with egg wash.
Arrange the colored eggs on the dough, pushing them in slightly.
Bake for about 30 minutes until well browned and cooked through. Cool on a rack before glazing with icing and adding colored sprinkles.

To make the icing and decorate the bread

Sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl.
1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar
Whisk together the powdered sugar with lemon juice and enough water to make a runny icing.
2 teaspoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons water
When the bread is cool, drizzle icing over the bread but not on the eggs. Scatter with colored sprinkles before the icing sets.
colored sprinkles

Notes

To make the dough by hand

In a large bowl, combine bread flour, sugar, orange peel, yeast, anise seeds, salt, milk, and eggs. Mix with a wooden spoon until everything is well combined.
Once the dough starts to come together, turn it out onto a well floured surface.
Using a dough scraper or a flat stiff spatula, scrape up the dough and fold the top and the bottom of the dough into the middle. Turn it 180º then make the same fold. Repeat this fold and turning action at 4 to 6 times.
Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes covered with a clean cloth.
Gradually add small pieces of butter, folding each bit in before adding the next. Continue folding and kneading until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is soft but not sticky. If the dough remains very sticky, add a little more flour. Not too much or the bread will be heavy and dense.
Return the dough to a clean bowl to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1½ hours.

Tips for Success

Whether you use instant yeast or dry active yeast, this recipe doesn't require the yeast to be activated in lukewarm milk. Add the yeast directly to the mixing bowl with flour and other ingredients.
Allowing the dough to rise is essential for a light, airy loaf
Room temperature affects how quickly yeast dough rises. On warm days, it will rise faster, so rely on visual cues instead of strictly following recipe times.
If it’s a cool day and you want faster rising, place a pan of hot water in a switched-off oven. Put the bowl of dough on the rack above the water, close the door, and let the yeast do its work.
Alternatively, fill the sink with 2-3 inches of warm water and place the bowl in it, ensuring the bowl doesn't float.
You can eat the eggs as they will be cooked along with the dough. Naturally don't leave the dough with the eggs sitting out on the counter for hours and then expect them to still be good. You can remove the eggs and refrigerate then place them back in for serving.
The method in the recipe for coloring eggs is also great for decorating hard-boiled eggs for Easter baskets or gifts.

This bread was based on this Easter Bread by the Italian Dish but also various other sources.

Nutrition