Italian Easter Bread

You might want to make this the day of Easter.  You could make it a day in advance but once you smell this baking in the oven you may not be able to wait a day to eat it!  This bread is a  high, delicately sweet, buttery brioche type bread.  I flavor it with orange zest, orange juice and anise.  Occasionally I will add golden raisins that have been steeped in sambuca, reminiscent of a panettone.

you can bake without the eggs nestled in braid

This makes 1 large loaf or 2 small loaves 

4 cups flour
3/4 cup milk
zest of 2 oranges
1/4 cup sugar
1 envelope yeast
1 stick butter, melted
juice of 1 orange

4 eggs

3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp anise extract (or more depending on your taste)
1 cup golden raisins steeped in sambuca or rum *optional
3-6 hardboiled eggs, natural or dyed with natural coloring, optional

1-2 TBS anise seed and more sugar for pan **see Note below

Combine milk with orange zest in a small saucepan and place over low heat.  Heat to 110-115 (warm) and add yeast and sugar, mix to combine and the sugar is dissolved, let sit until puffs up, approx 10 minutes.

Put the flour in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center of the flour, add the milk/yeast mixture and stir.  There will not be enough liquid yet to make a dough.


Whisk melted butter with orange juice and add to bowl, stir to combine.

Whisk eggs with salt and anise extract and add to bowl.

Start adding more flour until a dough comes together, turn out onto a floured board and knead for a few minutes (3-5) until the dough becomes elastic.  It will still be slightly sticky.

Wash the bowl you made the dough in and coat it with butter.

Place dough in bowl and turn to coat with butter, rubbing butter into top of ball of dough.  Cover with plastic and let rise in a warm (75-80) draft free area.


When doubled in size, about 1 hour, punch down and bring to work surface.  Lightly flour surface of board (light so the dough will stick together when you braid it).  Divide the dough in 3 pieces.  Roll each piece into a 16" log.

logs before braiding



Place each side by side onto a parchment lined baking pan. 


the bottom with sugar and anise seed



**Note: a nice touch is to sprinkle sugar and anise seed on bottom of pan before placing dough logs on pan, optional

Pinch the tops of the logs together and then braid and pinch the bottom of the logs together.

If using eggs in loaf now is when you tuck them under the braids.

*I used natural dyes for the eggs (yellow: turmeric   green: red cabbage and turmeric   blue: red cabbage)
You can omit eggs or use undyed

Cover the braid with plastic and let rise again, about 45 minutes, almost doubled but not quite

Brush top of bread with beaten egg, careful not to get egg wash on boiled eggs.
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until golden

braid before baking