Braided Easter Sweet bread
A favorite Easter bread, it's braided and glazed, with a hint of lemon and almond. With these simple flavors, it's perfect for brunch or with a cup of coffee. This gorgeous sweet dough is easy to make, great to work with, and versatile enough to add other flavorings or fillings or top with colorful eggs if you want to.
Servings 1 medium braid
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- ¼ cup water slightly warm (not hot)
- 1 cup milk slightly warm (not hot)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest loosely packed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour you might need more to knead
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 tablespoons milk to brush before baking
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar or white sugar, to sprinkle
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup sliced almonds lightly toasted, optional but recommended
Instructions
For the dough:
- Put ¼ cup water in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl (if making this recipe by hand).
- Add 1 teaspoon active dry yeast and mix with a wooden spoon or similar. It will be lumpy and weird. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let stand 3-5 minutes until frothy.
- Add 1 cup milk, ½ cup sugar and 2 eggs. Mix a few times until eggs are combined.
- Add ⅓ of the flour amount and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix with the spoon. It will be lumpy and rough.
- With the stand mixer: attach the dough hook.
- At low/medium speed add ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract, ½ teaspoon lemon zest and the rest of the flour (the smaller amount) ½ cup at a time. Stop the mixer, cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes.
- By hand: Add ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract, ½ teaspoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon salt and half of the remaining flour and mix well with a spoon. Add the rest of the flour and mix. It will be dry and lumpy.
- Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes. Now on to the kneading.
- If using the stand mixer use the dough hook at medium speed for 6 to 8 minutes, until you have a shiny, satiny but slightly sticky dough. You might use the extra flour stated above but don’t be tempted to add more unless the dough is very wet and sticky.
- If kneading by hand, do it on a clean surface, ideally marble counter or similar.
- Knead while adding the rest of the flour by tablespoons until the dough is shiny, slightly sticky but it’s easy to separate it from the counter. It takes a few minutes to start coming together. You should knead for 8-10 minutes. You might need more flour. But don't make it stiff or the bread will be dry.
- Put the dough in an oiled or buttered large bowl and turn it onto itself so the whole surface is greased.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free warm place until doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the temperature of the place. Alternatively, you can now refrigerate it for 8 hours. Once you're ready to shape, take it out of the fridge and wait 15 minutes or so, it depends on how warm your space is. Don't wait too much since the cold dough is much easier to shape.
- Have ready a buttered or parchment-lined baking sheet.
- When ready to braid, gently punch the dough down and turn it onto the counter or similar surface cut the dough in 3 parts and make them into ropes.
- Put three ends together pinching them down and braid them. Transfer the braid to the pan. cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise 30 minutes or so, until slightly puffed.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
- Brush the surface 2 tablespoons milk and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon light brown sugar.
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until puffed, golden and the bottom sounds hollow when lightly tapped with your knuckles.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Store leftovers covered in plastic wrap at room temperature for 2-3 days and then refrigerate or freeze, well wrapped.
For the glaze:
- Mix 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in a small bowl until very creamy.
- Drizzle over the cooled braid and top with t¼ cup sliced almonds before it dries. Let dry before cutting and serving.
Notes
Baking time: Keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer placed inside the oven to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust.
Make sure the yeast is not expired. Old or moldy yeast is no good, similar to baking powder. If not kept in the right conditions they will not work properly. In short, your bread will not rise. All your effort will be wasted. So, buy yeast according to the amount of bread you bake. Keep it in the refrigerator, well covered,d so it's not in contact with air.
Don't mix yeast with salt at the beginning of the recipe. They should be added separately and combined after the yeast is working, that is, after it is mixed with some liquid and flour. They are not friends, as salt 'kills' some of the yeast power. You certainly don't want that for your bread. You want the yeast to be powerful and help the bread rise as much as it can.
Take the time to knead the dough properly. Kneading develops gluten and creates a 'woven fabric' that forms the structure for the bread to rise well. Too little kneading and the bread won't rise well. But don't overdo it either. Too much kneading and the structure will end up breaking and the result will also be bad.
Braiding: The traditional 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 of, 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.