Easter Bread a tasty treat no matter what recipe used

Here is an Easter Bread from several countries, called by several names, spiced with anise or cardamom or orange or lemon peel or vanilla, usually braided and formed into a wreath and baked with colored eggs tucked into the folds of the braids. Some are sprinkled with multicolored candies, or sliced almonds or sesame seeds.

This all started with my memory of an Easter breakfast bread that I ate once as a youngster at the house of friends of my parents. It was accompanied by kielbasa, and I formed the impression that we were eating something Polish. I mainly remembered the colorful boiled Easter eggs embedded in it.

We may very well have had a Polish Babka that morning, or maybe a Greek Tsourekia, or an Italian Pana di Pasqua all ‘Uovo. There are several variations on this, many of Eastern European origin. I know this now because several of you sent along your family recipes or ones you found in cookbooks. Evan Kanarakis, Therese Parr, Catherine Chase, Joan Bromage all got in touch by e-mail, and Wilma Vitalone of Brewer sent her offering by mail. (I hope I did not leave anyone out!)

A classic version has deep red dyed eggs in it to symbolize Christ’s blood. The dough is a yeast-raised brioche-type, enriched with eggs, sugar, and butter. Oddly enough, I have never made this kind of bread dough, so it turned out to be good experience for me, and apparently it tasted good because the people around this house made short work of eating it up. It is perfect for breakfast: coffeecake and hard cooked eggs all in one. Just pull out the egg in your piece of Easter bread and peel it.

All the recipes were very similar, and Evan’s was double the size of everyone else’s, and I borrowed his method for assembling the bread. Wilma’s instructions – a recipe her family has used for 50 years – calls for the decorative eggs to be dyed but not boiled before being put into the bread, so that is what I did. Then I followed Therese’s directions for making the braided ring.

As you might well expect, this recipe is a little involved, but then it is a holiday treat. While I was trying it out, I also made supper, so if your time is short, you can work it in around other tasks. If you are a newcomer to this kind of bread as I was, do read the recipe all the way through first, and make sure you have a picture of each step in your mind before you start.

Easter Bread

Serves 6 to 8

1/2 cup warm water

2 packages dry yeast

1/2 cup scalded milk

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter (one stick) melted

1 tablespoon of lemon zest (or orange), or a teaspoon of cardamom, or anise

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

3 1/2 to 4 cups flour

Dye and set aside up to six uncooked eggs. Put the warm water into a large bowl and add the yeast to dissolve it for about three minutes. Then stir in the scalded milk, the teaspoon of sugar, and flour. Let it rise in a warm place until it is all bubbly. This takes about half an hour.

Using a double boiler or a small pan set into hot water in a large pan, beat the eggs and sugar over the hot water until they are thick and creamy, then whisk in gradually the melted butter until the mixture is very smooth, then add it to the yeast mixture. Add your flavorings.

Using a wood spoon, beat in three cups of flour, and when the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl, sprinkle a little flour on a board, and knead the dough adding the remaining flour a very little at a time. Knead until it is elastic and smooth. Put into an oiled bowl, and rub a little oil over the surface. Set to rise until doubled, for about an hour.

When doubled, punch it down and divide the dough into two even sized pieces. Roll each out into a rope about a yard long. Pinch the ends of the rope together and wrap the two around each other, and arrange in a ring on a greased baking sheet. Tuck an egg into each fold. Let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Beat one egg yolk with a little water to brush on as a glaze. When the ring has doubled, brush the ring with the egg glaze, and if you wish, sprinkle the surface with sliced almonds, coarse sugar, or multi-colored candies. Bake for 25 minutes or until evenly golden brown.

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail: tastebuds@prexar.com. For recipes, tell us where they came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and daytime phone number.