Recipes for "easter bread"

Combine 2 cups flour and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Combine milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan; heat and stir over medium-low heat until mixture is smooth and an instant-read thermometer reads between 90 degrees F (32 degrees C) and 100 degrees F (37 degrees C).

Pour hot milk mixture into flour mixture; add eggs and beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase speed to high; beat 3 minutes. Add 1 cup flour and 3 tablespoons orange juice; mix on high speed for 3 minutes.

Fit the mixer with the dough hook. Add remaining 2 ½ cups flour to the bowl; beat until flour is completely incorporated.

Grease a large glass bowl; transfer dough to the greased bowl. Set dough aside to rise until doubled in volume, 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Punch down dough; divide in half. Split each half into 3 equal pieces, roll each piece into a cylinder, and braid into two loaves, using 3 dough cylinders per loaf. Place loaves onto a baking sheet. Cover with a dish towel and set aside to rise for about 1 hour.

Bake in the preheated oven until centers spring back when lightly pressed, 25 to 30 minutes.

Stir confectioners' sugar and 1 tablespoon orange juice together in a small bowl; brush on tops of loaves.

Color the 5 eggs with egg dye. In a large mixing bowl, blend the white sugar, salt, and yeast well with 1 cup of the flour.

In a saucepan, combine 2/3 cup 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. 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 about 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 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 and 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 wax paper and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick 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. To make icing: mix together confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon whole milk, and vanilla.

Pour yeast into a small bowl; add warm water and 1/4 cup of flour. Stir, cover with two damp kitchen towels, and leave in a warm place until bubbly, about 2 1/2 hours.

Combine butter, shortening, and mastic in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

Stir milk and sugar together in another saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm. Remove from heat.

Pour 2 cups flour into the butter mixture and stir well. Add salt, then stir in the yeast mixture. Add 2 more cups of flour and stir well. Stir in 3 beaten eggs. Slowly add the milk mixture and 1 cup of flour and stir well. Add the room-temperature water and the last cup of flour and stir until the dough is not sticky.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for 20 minutes with lightly floured hands. Form dough into a ball. Cover with damp towels and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease two baking sheets.

Divide dough into two pieces and separate each piece into three strands. Braid each of the 3 strands together to form 2 braided loaves. Place on the baking sheets. Nestle the red-dyed eggs between the strands. Brush the dough with the remaining beaten egg. Sprinkle the tops with almonds and sesame seeds.

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

Combine milk, sugar, and butter in a saucepan over low heat and warm to 112 degrees F (44 degrees C). Remove from heat. Stir in yeast and wait for mixture to bubble.

Place flour in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture, whole eggs, egg white, chopped almonds, apricots, orange zest and juice, lemon zest, and mahlepi. Mix together. Knead dough until well mixed, adding extra flour if necessary until dough is only slightly sticky. Set dough aside until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Combine egg yolk and 1/4 cup milk in a bowl and place in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Knead risen dough to expel bubbles and divide into 2 equal parts. Divide each half into 3 equal balls. Roll each ball into a rope about 18 inches long. Braid 3 ropes to make a loaf and tuck the ends underneath and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining 3 ropes to form a second loaf. Brush egg yolk mixture on top of each loaf and sprinkle with slivered almonds. Brush again with egg yolk mixture.

Bake in the preheated oven until loaves are brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, about 40 minutes.

Combine milk, butter, and margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until butter and margarine are melted, but do not let it boil. Stir in 1 cup of sugar until dissolved, then set aside to cool to lukewarm.

Meanwhile, dissolve 2 teaspoons of sugar in warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast over the surface, and let stand until frothy, about 10 minutes.

Crack eggs into a large bowl, and stir a little to break up the yolks. Slowly pour in heated milk mixture while whisking constantly, so as to temper the eggs and not cook them. Add yeast mixture, and stir just until blended.

Combine flour, baking powder, mahleb, and salt in a large bowl; make a well in the center, and pour in egg mixture. Stir until it forms a sticky dough. Pour onto a floured surface, and knead in additional flour as needed to make a more substantial dough. Knead for about 10 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl, and set in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

When dough has doubled, punch down again, and let rise until doubled. It will only take about half as long this time.

Separate dough into 5 even portions, then separate each of those into thirds. Roll each of those into ropes about 12 inches long. Braid sets of three ropes together, pinching the ends to seal, and tucking them under for a better presentation. Place loaves onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Loaves should be spaced 4 inches apart. Set in a warm place to rise until your finger leaves an impression behind when you poke the loaf gently.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Brush loaves with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake in the preheated oven until nicely golden brown all over, about 25 minutes.

Whisk warm milk, 1/4 cup flour, and yeast for dough together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let sit about 15 minutes to ensure yeast is active; small bubbles should start to rise to the surface. Add sugar, beaten egg, lemon and orange zest, cinnamon, salt, cardamom, nutmeg, melted butter, and most of the remaining flour (you might not need it all). Mix with a dough hook attachment until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and becomes slightly elastic, 5 or 6 minutes. Continue kneading until dough is soft and shiny, about 10 minutes. Remove dough from dough hook and shape into a ball. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface.

Shape dough into a round ball. Transfer to lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover and let rise in a relatively warm, draft-free place until double in size, about 2 hours.

Poke dough down a bit with your fingertips. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Work dough into a uniform piece and cut into eight 4-ounce pieces. Roll one piece with the flats your hands into a 12-inch rope; it's okay if one end is a little thicker than the other.

Cut 2 inches off the smaller end and 3 inches off the larger end. Roll the 2-inch piece into a ball for the tail. Roll the ends of the 3-inch piece into points, then flatten one end slightly for the face. Roll the remaining piece into a 12-inch rope, about 1/2 inch wide.

Transfer the rope to a Silpat®-lined baking sheet and make a coil for the body. The end of the coil will be the bunny's front legs and paws, so place the head on top of that, touching the body, with the flatter side facing the same way as the paws.

Cut the back side of the head (the pointy side) about 2/3 of the way in towards the face to make 2 ears. Make depressions in the middle of each ear with a bench scraper or the back of a knife; do not cut all the way through. Set the tail in place, touching the back of the body.

Repeat to form remaining bunnies; you will use 2 lined baking sheets for 8 bunnies. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and proof in a warm spot for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Beat egg and water together for egg wash.

Remove plastic wrap from the baking sheets and brush dough with egg wash. Poke small holes in the faces for eyes, then push raisins in the holes. Redefine the ears by pressing again with a bench scraper or knife.

Bake in the center of the preheated oven until beautifully browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Carefully remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cut into the center of the ears again to redefine them. Brush bunnies with simple syrup and sprinkle coconut onto the tails.

Mix 1 cup of flour with sugar, salt, and yeast in a bowl; stir well. Place milk and anise extract into a small saucepan over low heat; warm to about 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). Make a well in the center of flour mixture with your hand, and pour in milk mixture; swirl with your hand in a circular motion to combine flour mixture with milk mixture. Mix in butter and eggs, one at a time, then mix in remaining flour until dough begins to pull together.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead until soft but elastic, about 8 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth, and let dough rest for 10 minutes; cut dough into halves.

On floured work surface, roll each half into a ball, then shape the balls into 2 long pieces, about 1 ½ inches thick and 18 to 20 inches long. Pinch the 2 top ends together, and loosely twist the pieces to form a twisted loaf; pinch the bottom ends together, and tuck the two ends underneath the loaf. (Alternately, form the twist into a ring, and pinch the ends together.)

Grease a baking sheet; lay the loaf onto the prepared sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Brush loaf with beaten egg, and sprinkle with colored decorating dragees.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake the decorated loaf in the preheated oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Watch closely towards the end of the baking time that the bread does not begin to burn. Transfer to wire rack immediately after baking to cool.

Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan liberally with butter or nonstick baking spray. Set it aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and cinnamon.

Separate the biscuit dough and cut each biscuit into 6 evenly sized pieces.

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Add the biscuit pieces to the bowl of cinnamon sugar, and use your hands to toss and evenly coat each piece with the cinnamon sugar. Transfer the coated dough and any extra cinnamon sugar into the prepared Bundt pan, and distribute them evenly in the pan.

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, until smooth and fully combined. Take the butter mixture off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Evenly pour the butter mixture over the dough.

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the caramel coating begins to bubble around the edges of the pan.

Remove the monkey bread from the oven and let it cool in the pan set on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a spatula or butter knife. Flip a large round plate or platter upside down over the pan. Then, carefully flip the pan. You may have pieces of dough stuck to the pan. That’s okay! Simply remove them and tuck them back into the monkey bread. Serve warm.

Monkey bread is best served warm on the day it is baked. Any leftovers can be stored airtight at room temperature for 1 day, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat the monkey bread in a 300°F oven until warm to the touch, or heat individual servings in the microwave.

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Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Sprinkle yeast onto warm water in a mixing bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 1/2 cups flour until smooth, then cover and set aside in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Cream together the shortening, 1 cup of sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add the 2 eggs and egg white, one at a time, mixing until smooth between each addition. Stir in the yeast mixture along with the lemon zest, lemon juice, and remaining 3 1/4 cups flour until a smooth dough is formed. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into four equal size rounds; cover and let rest for 2 minutes. Roll each round into a long rope about 18 inches long.

Grease two large baking sheets. Using the two long pieces of dough, form a loosely braided ring on one of the baking sheets, leaving spaces for three colored eggs. Seal the ends of the ring together and use your fingers to slide the eggs between the braids of dough. Repeat to form second loaf. Cover, and let rise until doubled in bulk , or until your finger leaves a dent when the bread is gently pressed, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Beat egg yolk together with 1 tablespoon heavy cream; set aside.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, then brush on egg yolk mixture and decorate with candy sprinkles. Continue to bake until the loaves are dark brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, 30 to 40 minutes.