I’ve made a lot of sweet bread over the years, especially the lovely bread called Italian Easter Bread, but this recipe is absolutely one of my favorite versions.
During this horrendous Covid19 pandemic and quarantine, I hope many of you are finding bright spots. For me, I always find comfort and peace in my faith in Jesus Christ, and I almost also find happiness in at home in my kitchen baking and cooking. With the extra time I’ve had with no commute and travel, I’ve definitely spent more time doing just that.
Beautiful Italian Easter bread, decorated with colorful eggs, is one of the happiest things I bake. It reminds me of my childhood, and the big Sunday gatherings we’d have with our big, loving Sicilian family. Those days and memories are etched in my mind F O R E V E R!
To be honest, I don’t recall my aunties actually making this bread, but I remember the taste and texture. I asked my cousin Cindy who is 10 years older then I if she remembered our aunts making the bread – and she absolutely did. She told me it was her job to dye the eggs. I was so jealous I missed that boat!
Making Italian Easter Bread is Easier than you Think
You may look at this beautiful bread and think it’s difficult, but I promise you it isn’t. The braiding part isn’t even hard. In fact you don’t have to be fancy at all with the twisting. The dough is so forgiving!
The colored eggs don’t even have to be colorful. I actually think plain, white or brown eggs look nice too (although the colors really add the wow factor). The other thing that makes things easier, is that you don’t have to cook the eggs beforehand – they actually cook nicely with the bread!
Just make sure you knead the dough properly and make sure it has adequate time to rise. Most of the hard work (which is not work at all) is letting the dough do it’s thing and rise.
Best Ways to Enjoy Italian Sweet Bread
My favorite way to eat any bread is fresh out of the oven. However, this bread is wonderful at room temperature too. It’s also delicious sliced and toasted with butter and honey!
Equipment
- Stand Mixer (helpful but not necessary)
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 4½ cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 packet rapid rise yeast 1 packet = 2¼ teaspoons
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cups milk I used oat milk
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbls half and half
Bread Decoration
- 6 dyed eggs It's not necessary to boil the eggs ahead of time.
Instructions
- For the Dough
- In a small sauce pan, warm milk and butter together until butter melts. Don't let mixture get hot. Remove from heat; add vanilla extract.
- In bowl of stand mixer or mixing bowl, with paddle attachment, beat together yeast, salt, sugar and eggs until combined.
- To the egg mixture, slowly add 3½ cups of the flour (set aside the remaining cup of flour) and the milk mixture (alternating) and continue to beat with paddle attachment until smooth.
- Switch to dough hook attachment and knead the dough (or knead by hand on surface) until dough starts to become less sticky. Add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until dough leaves the side of the bowl and begins hugging the dough hook. Note: you may not need to use up the remaining cup of flour.After several minutes, pull the dough with two fingers to test the elasticity. You should be able to stretch to where it creates a "window" that you can almost see through.
- Once the dough is soft and stretchy, place in greased bowl, cover with a thick towel and let rise for two hours until dough is double in size. If you're going to peek at the dough, make sure you stretch plastic wrap over the top of the bowl to avoid a draft.
- Punch dough down on floured surface and cut into two or three equal pieces (depending on how many loaves you want). Shape into balls, cover with clean tea towel and let rise another hour, until about double in size.
- Punch dough balls down and cut each ball into two or three pieces. For each dough ball, roll 2-3 long strands out, about 18 inches long, and then braid or twist, making sure to pinch both ends. Shape as preferred, place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover with tea towel to let rise another 30 minutes (or so).
- Heat oven to 350° F.
- Before baking, tuck the colored eggs into folds as you desire. Brush tops of dough with egg wash.
- Bake for about 25 minutes until tops are golden brown.
Egg Wash
- In small bowl, whisk together the egg and half and half.
Question, have you ever made this dough in a bread machine instead of by hand?
Hi there! I have not. But I do often knead in my KitchenAid with the dough hook.