Glazed Easter Bread (with video)

About this Easter bread recipe

Ours today is simply braided but made into a loaf. A large one mind you.

It's flavored with almond and lemon, a combination that is festive and delicious. You can only use vanilla if you want a more plain centerpiece. I alternate between the two, depending on the rest of the recipes I'm making.

This sweet bread dough is so amazing I never looked back after making it only once and decided it would be my go-to recipe for Easter and other holiday bread. Truly a fabulous recipe that you must try because I know you'll feel as I do about it.

• Yeast: I use active dry yeast, but you can use fresh yeast or instant yeast (also dry).
• Unsalted butter.
• Sugar: regular, granulated, white sugar.
• Milk: use regular, full-fat milk, or reduced-fat milk, both work.
• Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works.
• Almond extract: use pure almond extract, or a good almond essence (artificially flavored).
• Lemon: a touch of fresh lemon zest is used in the dough and lemon juice in the glaze.
• Salt: I like to use kosher salt when baking. But regular table salt works just fine. 
• Eggs: fresh, large.

Types of yeast

A very short answer is that yeast is a living microorganism that, when properly 'fed', metabolizes sugar and produces carbon dioxide and alcohol. It's what makes the bread rise or leaven and gives it that particular flavor.

• Dry yeast: you can buy instant or active dry, which look the same (image below) but are activated differently. The former goes directly into the dry ingredients (flour mostly) and the latter needs a wet environment (water in most cases) to foam and be ready. You can buy active dry yeast and instant yeast online.
• Fresh yeast: it comes in cubes usually and is crumbly and humid. This type has a much shorter refrigerator life than the dry versions, so it's not as popular. You can buy fresh yeast online.

Don't be afraid to work with yeast. It takes a little practice (what doesn't), but the results are amazing! Making your own bread is a one-way journey for many people. Including me.

How to make this bread

Most bread recipes can be made either in a stand mixer with the dough hook (like the Kitchen Aid stand mixer or similar) or by hand. 

Of course, the former is easier, but sometimes we don't have access to one, so knowing how to bake the old-fashioned way (hands in the dough!) is useful. 

WATCH THE STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO 👇🏻

Stand mixer

1. Proof the yeast, that is, check if it's good to use, directly in the mixer bowl. It should foam when mixed with a little liquid, flour, and sugar. 
2. Start adding the rest of the ingredients to the yeast mixture in the order given. 
3. Knead using the dough hook attachment until you have a sticky dough. The dough will stick heavily to the sides of the bowl but eventually will start to gather into a mass around the hook. A small amount of dough will still cling to the sides and bottom. Don't be tempted to add too much extra flour! This dough is sticky, especially before the first rise. 
4. Transfer to an oiled bowl and let double in volume.

By hand

1. The first two steps are the same as above, but you mix everything in a large bowl. 
2. There comes a moment when the dough is still wet but it's hard to mix in more flour. It looks like a very thick, lumpy pancake batter. At this point, you transfer it to a heavily floured board and get your hands into action.
3. At first, the dough will be very sticky. This is a wet dough enriched with eggs and butter so the way to 'knead' it is by lifting it up and letting it fall down, trying to fold it onto itself when you do that. It will get less sticky as you continue to do that. Add bits of flour only when completely necessary. 

First rise

Transfer the slightly sticky mass to an oiled or greased bowl, cover, and let the dough rise until doubled. This might take 1 hour or more, depending on the temperature of the room.  

If the dough is not rising during the first half-hour it's probably because the room is too cold. So wrap the bowl with a blanket, thick towel or even a sweater. You need to create a warmer environment (a warm spot) for the yeast to work. 

Vintage Kitchen Tip

The stickiness will have decreased after the first rise (image below). Punch the dough down with your closed fist (image below) and turn it out onto a clean work surface. 

You will see that it's much more supple and easier to work with. 

Making the braid

We're making a simple 3-rope braid, so it's super easy! You can make other more intricate patterns like the ones for challah. There are thousands of tutorials about them everywhere.

For this one, you have to make 3 ropes of roughly the same size and length. The best way is to weigh the whole thing and divide dough into three equal parts. Or eyeball it, as I do. There will be small differences probably. 

Then simply braid as you would your hair, bringing each outer long rope over the one in the middle, one at a time, and then pinch the ends together.

This bread dough has eggs and melted butter added.

So it's very rich in flavor and texture, but not difficult to work with. If you're familiar with brioche, think of this Easter dough as its poor cousin, with fewer eggs and less butter, but lots of attitude.

Egg wash: I use only milk to brush the bread before baking it, but you can use the traditional egg wash that includes an egg mixed with the milk for a shinier and deeper golden color.

Variations

• Braiding: the traditional Italian Easter bread is made as a single braid with the ends overlapping, thus creating a round braid. You can top it with pastry cream or colored easter eggs before baking. Or you can make the braid and leave it like that, as in the photos in this post. Alternatively, you can go the challah bread way and do a more sophisticated braiding job. There are many challah braiding tutorials on YouTube. 
• Flavorings: you can add ground spices and citrus to the dough - cinnamon, cardamom, even saffron, other citrus zest (orange, lime, tangerine), anise seeds - or make a morning bread similar to this cinnamon sugar challah. 
• Glazes: you can play with the glaze too, make it orange-flavored, or use liquor, or coffee. Top with colorful sprinkles instead, or in addition to, the sliced almonds. Let your imagination and palate go in any direction you want your finished bread to look.
• Individual buns: alternatively you can make individual little loaves of bread, similar to the fantastic Hot Cross Buns. Or make individual braids, piece both ends together to make a circle and use different colored eggs to place in the center of each one.
• Leftovers: it makes great french toast the next day (and for Easter morning of course). We also use it for the apple bread pudding if there's any left after our Easter Sunday brunch.