Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Grandma's Easter Bread

Easter bread is a must-make tradition for everyone in our family thanks to my Grandmother.

We all love the taste of this egg style of delicious sweet bread with the addition of lemon or anisette.

Of course, you can just use vanilla in the yeast-risen batter, however, anisette remains the favorite for all of use here.

We start making it the day before Palm Sunday and several loaves some with boiled eggs, some frosted, and some left plain so we can toast it in the morning.

The kids love this bread made into bunny shapes, braids, or just loaves, whatever you decide to make the dough is so versatile to mold into festive shapes.

Grandma whips up this dough, let it rise overnight, and makes it fresh to eat warm the next morning, the memories are priceless.

The food is in abundance with of course the sugo (sauce) lamb, favorite pasta like lasagna, all kinds of vegetables, appetizers, and a ton of desserts like cassata, cream puffs, cannoli, cookies, and of course Grandma's Easter Bread

Easter was always one of our favorite holidays for baking and cooking along with Christmas in our Italian American family and the traditions live on in all of us.


Grandma's egg bread for Easter in an Easter basket with jelly beans and chicks in the photo near the pool outside





this is easter egg bread braided


Bread


This is an easy recipe I watched Grandma make every year.

She also made this bread is all kinds of flavors other than anisette.

Everyone loved different flavors, so add any extracts to prefer.

She loved anisette and most of the family loved lemon and lemon zest in their bread.

Whether you make orange with orange zest, lemon, almond or even plain vanilla this is a light and fluffy egg bread with a little sweetness.

The bread is great frosted or plain and makes fabulous toast the next day.


homemade easter bread with boiled eggs inside and anisette flavor


Easy Step By Step

  1. Soften yeast in lukewarm water to the wrist (should be 110 degrees)
  2. Mix eggs, anise, and oil with yeast after dissolved.
  3. Use a dough hook or hand knead, add the sugar then flour one cup at a dough until soft dough forms.
  4. Cover overnight with a light film of oil. Cover with plastic wrap.
  5. Set in a warm place to rise overnight.
  6. Shape into rounds, braids, animals whatever you like.
  7. For round shapes add a round glass to leave space for a boiled-colored Easter Egg in the center. Make sure the glass is oven-proof that is used.
  8. If you prefer to bake the egg in the dough, wrap strips of dough around the eggs to hold them in place
  9. Bake at 375 until brown.

this is easter bread sliced to see how fluffy it looks inside


Easter Traditions


Easter in Italian is “Pasqua,” and it’s a time of religious parades and celebrations.

These processions often have as their focus statues of Jesus or the Virgin Mary which are carried through the city streets by participants.

One of the largest and most famous processions is in the city of Enna in Sicily on Good Friday, where more than 2,000 friars parade through the city.

One of the oldest Good Friday processions takes place in the Abruzzo city of Chieti.

Of course, because Italy is such an overwhelmingly Catholic's you’ll find the majority of them head to St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

For some more personal and local traditions, Catholic priests throughout Italy will stop by private homes and shops in order to bless them for Easter.


this is a frosted loaf of Easter Egg Bread sliced


Dough Shapes

  1. birds nests
  2. bunnies
  3. egg shapes
  4. animal shapes
  5. shaped into a cross
  6. braided
  7. Note: cooked eggs can be added dyed or nondyed and plain but hard-boil them first

homemade easter bread with boiled eggs inside and anisette flavor


Pans To Use

  1. loaf pans
  2. ring style pans
  3. character shaped pans
  4. cross pans
  5. cookie sheets
  6. bundt pan

this is Easter Bread made with egg and anisette flavors


Tips



  • Rise dough overnight for best results
  • Keep the dough covered with light oil and plastic wrap and towels over the top of the bowl
  • For the lightest dough, punch down and rise again
  • For a heavier dough rise only once


Grandma's egg bread for Easter in an Easter basket with jelly beans and chicks in the photo near the pool outside


Shopping List



  • dry yeast
  • egg yolks
  • sugar
  • oil
  • flour
  • anise extract or another flavoring you like IE lemon extract, almond etc.
  • 1 egg beaten for the top to brush top with
  • Colored and Boiled Easter Eggs
  • powdered sugar
  • water
  • sprinkles for decorating


this is collage of photos on how to make Easter Bread


Pin for later

this is a pin for later on how to make Italian Easter Bread


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this is a egg bread made at easter in most Italian homes



Easter bread, bread, egg bread, braided bread, colored Easter eggs , Easter foods, Easter bread with boiled eggs, Italian traditions
bread, Easter
Italian
Yield: 10

Grandma's Easter Bread

prep time: 15 min cook time: 4 hours total time: 4 hours and 15 mins
Delicious egg bread Grandma and mom made every year. This is a traditional Italian bread that has a boiled egg for Easter decoration inside and a little pretty decorated icing on top. Delicious toasted or plain with anisette flavor.

ingredients:

  • Grandma's Easter Bread Recipe
  • 1 package of dry yeast
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 8 -1/2 tablespoons of sugar
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 3 1/2 to 4 cups of flour
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons anise extract or another flavoring you like (IE lemon extract, almond, etc.)
  • 1 egg beaten for the top to brush top with
  • Colored and Boiled Easter Eggs
  • The frosting is powdered sugar and water to make a thin icing and
  • colorful candies to sprinkle on top

instructions:

  1. Soften yeast in 1/3 cup water warm to the wrist. 
  2. Mix eggs, anise, oil with yeast after dissolved. 
  3. Use a dough hook or hand knead, add the sugar then flour one cup at a dough until soft dough forms. 
  4. Cover overnight with a light film of oil.
  5.  Cover with plastic wrap. 
  6. Set in a warm place to rise overnight. 
  7. Shape into rounds, braids, animals whatever you like. 
  8. For round shapes add a round glass to leave space for a boiled-colored Easter Egg in the center.
  9. Make sure the glass is oven-proof that is used. 
  10.  If you prefer to bake the egg in the dough, wrap strips of dough around the eggs to hold them in place. 
  11. Bake at 375 until brown. 
  12. Cool and frost with powdered sugar and water blended to make a thick frosting.
  13.  Sprinkle with colored candies. 
  14. Leave it plain if you like it toasted. 
  15. The bread freezes well also.
  16. We make this recipe every year. 
  17. Grandma and Mom made various shapes, birds nests, bunny shapes and egg shapes 
  18. We still do the same. 
  19. We boil and color Easter eggs first then are placed in the center adding strips of dough to hold the egg in place. 
  20. The dough has then risen until doubled and baked. 
  21. When cooled you can frost them or leave them plain.
Calories
279
Fat (grams)
15
Sat. Fat (grams)
4
Carbs (grams)
19
Net carbs
15
Sugar (grams)
12
Protein (grams)
2
Sodium (milligrams)
4
Created using The Recipes Generator


Grandma's Victoria's Easter Bread Pin this recipe for later



Frosted Easter Bread with hard boiled eggs and sprinkles


Try My Easter Roundup of Recipes!


Click Here for the Easter Italian Recipe Roundup!


this is easter egg bread braided


Disclosure: This recipe was originally posted to this blog 2010. It was edited and re-published in 2017.

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