Sweet Italian Bread Food

SWEET ITALIAN HOLIDAY BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, orange zest and baking powder. In another bowl, whisk eggs, milk and oil until blended. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened., Shape into a 6-in. round loaf on a greased baking sheet. Brush top with egg yolk; sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 45-50 minutes. Cover top loosely with foil during the last 10 minutes if needed to prevent overbrowning. Remove from pan to a wire rack; serve warm.

ITALIAN SWEET BREAD

Steps:

• In bread machine pan, place the first 7 ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed)., When the cycle is completed, turn dough onto a floured surface. Divide in half. Shape each portion into a ball; flatten slightly. Place in 2 greased 9-in. round baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes., Beat egg and water; brush over the dough. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning if desired. Bake at 350° until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

BEST BASIC SWEET BREAD

Steps:

• In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk, sugar and butter. Heat until slightly warm to the touch then remove from heat and stir in the yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Mix in the eggs, oil and the yeast mixture. Mix until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Grease a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of oil. Place the dough into the bowl and turn once to coat. Cover and let stand in a warm place until double in size, about 1 hour.
• Use remaining oil to grease a cookie sheet or 9x13 inch pan. For plain rolls, punch down dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll the pieces into balls and place them into the greased pan side by side. Let dough rise for 20 to 25 minutes, or until almost double. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until rolls are golden brown.

EASY CLASSIC FRENCH BRIOCHE BREAD

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix all the ingredients together on low speed for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. This process can take up to 15 minutes. Alternately, you can use a bread machine for the kneading portion of this recipe. Allow the machine to complete the dough cycle fully before moving onto the next step.
• Gather the dough into a ball and place it in a large, greased bowl or dough container, turning once to coat the dough. Cover the bowl and then allow the dough to rise for 45 minutes at room temperature.; this will kick-start the fermenting process to give the brioche its signature flavor. Refrigerate the dough for at least 8 hours or overnight. Do not allow the dough to rise for more than 12 hours.
• Place the risen dough in a greased brioche pan, loosely cover it with lightly greased plastic wrap, and then allow it to rise for 90 minutes to 2 hours until it has doubled in size. Brush the dough with the reserved egg white.
• Preheat the oven to 400F. Bake the brioche for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce the heat to 350 F, and continue baking the bread for an additional 30 minutes. The bread is done when a digital thermometer reads 190 F. If the bread begins to brown too fast-before it tests done-cover it with foil to avoid burning the brioche. Alternately, bake the bread in 12 muffin tins for 20 to 25 minutes, until they test done.
• Allow the large brioche to cool in the pan for 10 minutes or the individual rolls for 5 minutes, and then transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool. For the best flavor and texture, serve it slightly warm or at room temperature on the first day. Use any day-old brioche in our luscious brioche bread pudding recipe .

SWEET ITALIAN BREAD

Steps:

• Put all ingredients into bread machine.
• Mix on dough cycle.
• When cycle is complete, put dough onto greased surface and let sit for 20 minutes.
• After dough has rested, cut in half.
• Form into 2 long loaves.
• Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes.

ITALIAN EASTER BREAD

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, add milk and butter. Heat to 120 to 130°F (49 to 54ºC), stirring until the butter melts. Do not allow the milk to go above 130°F (54ºC).
• In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the eggs and whisk together. Add the warmed milk and butter mixture. Add 2 cups of flour.
• Attach a dough hook to a stand mixer and combine on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape the sides with a spatula as needed to incorporate the flour.
• Slowly add the remaining 2 cups of flour to the mixer on medium-low speed and scrape the sides as needed. Knead until the dough is stiff and slightly sticky, about 12 minutes.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured board and hand knead for about 3 to 4 minutes, adding a little more flour to prevent sticking. Do not use more than ¼ cup of flour.
• Shape dough into a ball, cover with a dish towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
• Divide into 6 pieces. Roll each piece to form a 1-inch wide rope, about 14-inches long.
• Taking 2 pieces, braid the rope, pinching the ends together and then loop into a circle. Make sure the ends are securely joined together.
• Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (2 per sheet), providing enough room to rise.
• Loosely cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap or a dish towel and allow to rise in a warm area, like a proofing box, until it doubles in size, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (177ºC). Set the rack in the middle position.
• Whisk together the large egg and 1 teaspoon water. Brush each braided bread with the egg wash.
• If desired, top the bread with sprinkles.
• Gently place one dyed egg in the center of each braided ring. Do not press into the dough, it will sink as it bakes.
• Bake one tray at a time until golden brown, approximately 15 to 18 minutes.
• Quickly transfer the baked bread to a cooling rack.

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.

AVANTI'S SWEET BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water. Let sit, undisturbed for about 10 minutes. You should see little bubbles appear. This tells you that the yeast is active.
• In a large bowl, mix oil, eggs, salt, sugar and water and yeast mixture together till blended.
• Add flour one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Knead till smooth and elastic.
• Let rise till doubled, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
• repeat the kneading and rising.
• Punch down.
• Cut dough into 2 pieces.
• Let rise, covered for 10 minutes.
• Shape into 2 oblong loaves, about 14 inches long.
• Place on greased cookie sheets.
• Cover: let rise again, about 50-60 minutes.
• Cut slash down middle of bread or 3 slashes diagonally on top.
• Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.

25 BEST SWEET BREADS

Steps:

• Select your favorite recipe.
• Organize all the required ingredients.
• Prep a sweet bread in 30 minutes or less!