Pane Pasqua!!! Easter Bread!! I love the holidays and Easter gets me excited because I know the warm weather is right around the corner.  I also love making my annual Easter Bread that includes colorful eggs and flavor!

Easter Bread (Pane Di Pasqua)

This is a bread that has a little bit of a sweet flavor and the glaze on top just takes it to a whole other level!

Breakdown of Ingredients:
Bread:
3 cups of flour
1 packet of dry yeast
1 tsp Salt
1/4 cup of Sugar
2 Whole Eggs
2/3 cup whole milk
Optional-1/4 cup sliced blanched almonds
Eggs:
5 White Whole Eggs
Pack of food coloring (includes Red, Blue, Green, Yellow)
5 tsp Salt
Glaze:
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup powered sugar
Sprinkles

You start with 1 cup of flour in your mixer with a pack of dry yeast (you can find it in the baking isle at your local supermarket) then you add 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 tsp of salt. Then add in 2 tablespoons of melted butter and 2/3 cup of scolded milk (its just milk that has been brought up to a boil). Then tun on your mixer to high and beat for about 2 mins. While that’s going measure out 2 more cups of flour and get out 2 eggs. After the 2 minutes add the eggs and half cup of the flour. Continue to mix on high and add in the rest of the flour a little bit at a time until all well mixed. Also this is when your going to also throw in the sliced almonds if you elected to add them. Your going to get a sticky dough, which is OK. Dump mixture on a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is soft. Place the dough in a greased bowl, flip over so the whole ball is greased. Then cover, I use a clean dish towel, and set aside in a warm place for about an hour.

Now its time to color your eggs…..

I used food coloring as opposed to using the vinegar mixture because I just preferred it.

You’ll need 5 white eggs and a pack of food colors (I just bought a pack of 4 that had red, blue, green and yellow). Place them in a pot with water and bring them to a boil. Once the water starts to boil remove from heat and cover for 20 minutes. While the eggs are sitting grab 5 plastic cups and fill them half way with water and add a tsp of salt (salt helps the color bind to the eggshell). Add 20 drops of a single color to a single cup, so you should have a cup for each color, with one color repeating, choose your favorite one to repeat!

Once the eggs are done sitting for 20 rinse them with cold water, dry them, and place one egg in each cup. Let them sit there…the longer the better.

Now back to the dough…

After an hour remove the dough and press it down in the middle and slice it in 2 equal halves. Roll each half into a 2 foot piece.

From here twist the two ropes and then form into a circle on a piece of tin foil.
Remove the eggs from the color, dry them off, and rub them with a LITTLE veg oil. Then stick them in each of the 5 pockets-HOW PRETTY!!!

Fold the tin foil upwards, it should almost cover the bread but top should be exposed, cover loosely with a clean dishtowel (same one from before) and set aside for another 30 minutes. At this point preheat your oven to 350.

After the 30 mins remove the dish towel and place the bread in the oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. When its done take it out and let it cool.

Whisk together a half cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of a fresh squeezed orange. I had Halos around so I just used 1 Halo, but regular oranges work just as well. Pour the glaze over the bread and add sprinkles.

Enjoy!!!