Thursday, April 1, 2010

Easter Bread Basket Recipe

bread

Tried my hand at this Easter Egg bread this week.

dough

Even though it involves kneading and rising and kneading and rising, I think it’s worth making again for special occasions.

(By the way, notice the old cutting board? It belonged to my mother in law. She made many-a-biscuits on this board.

My daughter asked, “You’re not going to really use that, are you?”

Me: “Of course I am!”

Daughter: “Don’t you think it has germs from all those years!”

Me: “You watch too much Dr. Oz.”)

easter bread wrapped

On a side note from the bread making,

you can see how to make this tag and others.

Just click here.

It makes sweet little Easter gifts for hostesses, neighbors, or whoever!

You can also make a large ring for Easter dinner.

  • Scald milk; add sugar, salt, shortening, and lemon peel. Cool to lukewarm.
  • Sprinkle yeast on warm water; stir to dissolve. Add to milk mixture with the 2 eggs, slightly beaten, and 2 1/2 cups of flour. Beat until smooth.
  • stir in enough remaining flour, a little at a time, to form a dough that is easy to handle. Turn onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 8 minutes. Place in lightly greased bowl; turn dough over to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place free from drafts until doubled, about 1 hour.
  • Punch down; cover and let rise again until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
  • Makes 2 large braided rings or 12 individual rings.

For 2 Large Rings:

Divide dough into 4 parts. Form each part into a 36” rope. On a greased baking sheet, shape 2 of the ropes into a very loosely braided ring. Repeat with other 2 ropes of dough for second ring.

For Individual rings:

Divide dough into 12 parts. Form each part into a ring.

  • Cover; let rise until doubled. (About 30 minutes)
  • Brush evenly with beaten egg. Sprinkle with tiny decorating candies.
  • Bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) 15 minutes for individual rings and 20 minutes for large rings, or until lightly browned. Serve warm.

Tips:

A boiled, colored egg nestled in the individual rings makes a sweet presentation.

Freeze ahead to avoid hectic holidays.

Let your dough rise in the laundry room while your clothes are drying. I know it sounds crazy, but it works.

I am sharing this recipe with other yummy treats at Gollum’s Foodie Friday.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

The bread looks so good!. My Doc. has me on a gluten free diet right now to see if I am intolerant... So far its only made me grouchy cause I can't have bread!
You asked about those bunnies on my table. No they are not real chocolate... I got them at Hobby Lobby, they look like foil wrapped chocolate bunnies don't they? They are foil wrapped and then painted withwatered down acrylic I think... at least of I was going to make them myseld that is how I would do it.. and I would use really cheap foil too... If you want a better photo of them I'll send you one...
Happy Easter

~Really Rainey~

Deanna Lack said...

Thank you for this! We used to make this when I was a kid but I was having a hard time finding a recipe. I seem to recall baking them with the egg in, but it made the eggs dry and gross when I did that. Any input?

Deanna Lack said...

Thank you for this! We used to make this when I was a kid but I was having a hard time finding a recipe. I seem to recall baking them with the egg in, but it made the eggs dry and gross when I did that. Any input?

Dolores said...

Great idea.....Thanks for sharing this recipe; the bread ring looks so pretty. I'm wondering if mine would turn out as nice as yours.

the country cook said...

I love this kind of bread! And I love that the eggs cook while the bread is cooking...that's the best part!

From the Old InkWell said...

Just thought I'd clarify, you can bake an uncooked eggs along with this bread, but I chose not to do that. I placed my boiled colored eggs in the bread after baking.

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Looks so good, and thanks for sharing the recipe.

Mimi said...

This is one of my children's favorite Easter breads. Yours looks so perfect.
Mimi

Carol at Serendipity said...

The bread looks wonderful. I have run out of time (and energy) but will save the recipe for next year.

Carol