Filomenas Italian Easter Bread Food

TRADITIONAL ITALIAN EASTER BREAD

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand up mixer whisk together the flour, salt, zest and sugar, make a well in the centre and add the milk and yeast, mix together with a fork. Then add the egg. With the dough hook attachment knead for approximately 1 minute just to combine.
• Cover the bowl with plastic and let rise 2 hours, every 30 minutes fold both ends into the middle (repeating 4 times).
• When the time has passed add the butter a little at a time, on medium high speed with the dough hook, knead just to combine all the butter, then let the dough rest 10 minutes. Knead again for 5-6 minutes until smooth and the dough does not stick to the sides of the bowl. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
• Move the dough to a lightly floured flat surface. Divide the dough into 4 parts. Roll each part into 2 ropes (10-12 inches / 25-30cm), join 2 ropes at the top and twist the ends one over the other (see photo), join the ends to form a wreath (circle) repeat with the remaining ropes. Place the wreaths on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, cover and let rise in a warm draft free area for 1-2 hours or doubled in bulk.
• 15 minutes before rising time has finished pre heat oven to 390F (195C).
• Add a dyed uncooked egg (if desired) to the centre of the wreath then brush the wreaths with the egg wash (be careful not to brush the eggs) and sprinkle with the sprinkles. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden, or when tapped on the bottom and there is a hollow sound. Immediately move the baked buns to a wire rack to cool. Let cool before serving. Enjoy!
• In a small bowl beat together the egg and water.

GRANDMA ROSE'S ITALIAN EASTER BREAD 1947

Steps:

• Scald whole milk and let cool, add in the yeast.
• Beat eggs, and juice, and zest.
• Beat sugar and butter until fluffy continue to beat well.
• Add the beaten egg mixture into the beaten sugar butter mixture.
• Combine with the cooled scaled milk , and yeast mixture.
• Combine well, add sifted flour, continue adding flour until a soft dough comes together.
• Turn out onto a table and knead until soft, not too sticky, 5- 10 minutes.
• Let double in a greased bowl, covered.
• Punch down and let rise again.
• Form into braids after second rising, or put into loaf pans.
• Let rise until almost doubled Bake 350 degrees, until golden, 20 minutes approximately.
• Note; the amount of flour can be anything from 8- 12 cups, or more. but add gradually until you have a soft slightly sticky dough -- where when touched your finger comes away tacky but not sticking to the bread board.Keep your dough soft not firm --.
• All depends on flour and humidity and how much juice from your oranges and lemons.
• Can braid and place under braiding but showing raw eggs white or already coloured, eggs will cook while baking, for an Easter morning delight.
• Directions on making the dough, can vary, as I have done the procedure in different ways, and now we can't get fresh compressed yeast in our stores, so I use active dry yeast, usually 2 tablespoons.

BREAD MACHINE ITALIAN EASTER BREAD

Steps:

• Add in order given above to bread machine. Process for dough cycle. Roll and shape into braided rings. Let rise. Bake at 340 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes.
• This bread can also have colored raw eggs put in the braids before baking. They will cook to hard boiled egg stage. After baking, cool and frost with 2 cups powdered sugar mixed with approximately 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, then sprinkle with non-pareils.

EASY ITALIAN EASTER BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a large saucepan, heat milk and 2 tablespoons butter to 120°-130°. Add dry ingredients; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs; mix well. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down; turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in fruit, almonds and aniseed until blended. Let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into a 24-in. rope. Loosely twist ropes together; place on a greased baking sheet and form into a ring. Pinch ends together. Melt remaining butter; brush over dough. Gently separate ropes and tuck dyed eggs into openings. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes., Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. For glaze, in a bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired consistency; drizzle over bread. Sprinkle with candies if desired.

FILOMENA'S ITALIAN EASTER BREAD

Steps:

• In a very large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until combined. Whisk in lemon zest and juice.
• In a medium size bowl, combine olive oil and milk. Crumble in yeast and whisk until incorporated.
• Pour yeast mixture into egg mixture and whisk to combine.
• Whisk in flour one cup at a time until you've added 6 cups, waiting for each cup of flour to be incorporated before adding more. The texture of the dough should be soft but not sticky. If the dough is sticky, continue adding more flour a little at a time.
• Turn dough out onto floured board and knead until smooth, approximately 5 minutes - continue to lightly dust board with flour while kneading to avoid sticking.
• Lightly coat the inside of a large, clean bowl with oil. Shape dough into round, and place in bowl. Rub additional oil on top of dough, and cover with plastic wrap.
• Cover bowl with a dish towel, and let dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until it's doubled in size; approximately 1 1/2 hours.
• Shape dough into twists, rounds, and doves, embedding hard-boiled eggs, as desired, for decoration. (See our hands-on demo for shaping the dough.)
• Without crowding, place shaped breads on baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper and dusted with flour. Cover with dish towels and let rise for approximately 1 1/2 hours. To test if dough has risen enough at this point, drop a small piece into a bowl of warm water. If it floats, it's ready for baking. If it sinks, the dough needs to rise more.
• Preheat oven to 275°F.
• Brush egg wash onto some of the breads. Leave others plain, as these can be brushed with glaze after baking.
• Bake breads in bottom third of oven until golden, approximately 15 to 25 minutes depending on size. Check the breads midway through baking to make sure the bottoms aren't getting too dark. If this happens, switch breads to a higher rack in oven.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine lemon juice and sugar to make glaze.
• When breads come out of oven and are still hot, brush those that haven't been egg-washed with glaze, and sprinkle on nonpareils, if desired.