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Italian Easter Bread Recipe | |
Italian Bread | |
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Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar1 tsp. salt 1 pkg.dry yeast 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups unbleached flour 2/3 cup milk 2 Tbls. butter 2 eggs, at room temperature 1/2 cup mixed candied fruit 1/3 cup chopped blanched almonds 1/2 tsp. anise seed 2 Tbls. melted shortening 5 uncooked eggs, colored with Easter egg Dye ICING: 1 cup confectioner's sugar 1 Tbls. milk 1/8 tsp. vanilla extract Colored sprinkles
Directions:
In a large bowl, blend the sugar, salt, and yeast well with 1 cup of the flour. In a saucepan, combine milk and butter, heating slowly until liquid is warm and butter is melted. Pour the milk into the dry ingredients and beat 125 strokes with a wooden spoon. Add eggs and 1/2 cup flour or enough to make a thick batter. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.Then stir in enough flour to make a ball of dough that draws away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for 10 minutes, working in additional flour to overcome stickiness. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in a warm, draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Meanwhile combine the fruit, nuts, and anise seed. Punch down the dough and return it to a lightly floured board. Knead in the fruit-nut mixture, keeping the syrupy pieces dusted with flour, until they are worked into the dough. Divide the dough in half. Carefully roll each piece into a 24 inch rope-the fruit and nuts will make this slightly difficult. Loosely twist the two ropes together to form a ring on a greased baking sheet. Pinch the ends together well. Brush the dough with melted shortening. Push aside the twist to make a place for each egg. Push eggs down CAREFULLY, as far as possible. Cover the bread with waxed paper and let rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Bake the bread in a preheated 350*F. oven for about 35 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in a twist comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool. Once the bread is cool, drizzle the icing on top-BETWEEN the eggs, and decorate with colored sprinkles. | |