Braided Easter Egg Bread, originally uploaded by rose'sexperiments.
During the Easter holiday you may find Braided Easter Egg Bread in specialty Italian bakeries.
They also may be ordered in advance to be picked up. Braided Easter Egg Breads make a great gift when you visit friends and family!
The kids love to have a piece that has the egg in it probably just to throw at road signs on the way home from Grandma's house (sorry I just couldn't help it!)
Here is a recipe I found on cooks.com as well as a great pic from rose'sexperiments on flicker.
After reviewing about 20 on-line I felt that this one would be a great one to try! One addition I would make would be to also add sprinkles on top as well as finish with a lemon icing drizzle.
Easter bread reminds me of the New Orleans Kings Cake. Remember that the eggs are colored and inserted into the braid raw.
Braided Easter Egg Bread (Recipe) print version
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup warm milk (120-130°F)
2 tbsp. butter, softened
7 eggs
1/2 cup mixed candied fruit, chopped
1/4 cup blanched almonds, chopped
1/2 tsp. anise seed
olive oil
Combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Pour in milk and softened butter. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed with an electric mixer.
Stir in 2 eggs and 1/2 cup flour. Beat 2 minutes on high speed. Stir in fruit, nuts and anise seed; mix well.
Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (you do not need to add it all).
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. (You may also use an electric mixer's dough hook for 5 minutes, then finish kneading for 1 minute, by hand.)
Place in a bowl greased with olive oil; turn once so that dough is lightly coated in oil.
Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place, free from draft, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Remaining eggs (uncooked, in shell) may be colored with food coloring, if desired, before using, then sprayed with oil after dry.
Punch dough down. Divide in half; roll each piece into a 24 inch rope. Loosely twist ropes together; place on a greased baking sheet and form into a circle.
Pinch rope ends together. Gently split ropes and tuck eggs into openings. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan. Brush top of bread with melted butter.
Cool on a wire rack.
