Easter Egg Bread

Janie's Mill manager Jill Brockman-Cummings makes this slightly sweet, yeasted bread for breakfast on Easter morning. We suspect that the recipe originates with the Italian side of her family, but its origins remain deliciously mysterious. We recommend using half Sifted Artisan and half High-Protein flour for a balance between strong gluten formation and a soft, tender crumb. This is a wonderful recipe to involve little helpers in rolling the strands, dyeing the eggs, and decorating with sprinkles! Whatever you celebrate this spring, we hope you find joy in new life, green shoots, and sweet sunshiny desserts!

Yield: 1 large or 2 small rings

Ingredients

• 1 c. warm water
• 4 ½ tsp. Yeast
• 3 c. Janie’s Mill Sifted Artisan Bread flour (1 ½ c. for initial yeast bloom)
• 3 c. Janie’s Mill High-Protein Bread flour
• 6 T. room temperature butter
• 6 T. vegetable oil 
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg white (save the yolk for the egg wash)
• 4 tsp. lemon zest from about 2 lemons
• oil for the bowl
• 5 raw, dyed and decorated eggs

Instructions

1. Mix warm water with yeast, stirring until dissolved. Then add 1 ½ cups of Sifted Artisan Bread Flour. Stir until smooth, cover, and let sit in a warm place for about 40 minutes.

2. Beat butter, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy. Beat in 2 eggs, an egg white, lemon zest, and lemon juice until smooth and fluffy. Stir in yeast mixture.

3. In a large bowl, measure out the remaining 1 ½ c. Sifted Artisan and 3 c. High-Protein. Create a well in the middle and transfer the butter/yeast/egg mixture to the bowl. Work in the flour with your hands until a shaggy dough forms.

4. Place dough in a large, oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about an hour.

5. When doubled, turn dough out onto a floury or wet surface, depending on how wet or dry your dough is, and knead gently until smooth. Divide into four equal pieces and roll each piece into a rope about 24” long. You may need to pause and relax the dough periodically. Gently twist two ropes together. Repeat with the other two ropes. You now have two long twisted strands.

6. Grease a large baking sheet. Loosely intertwine the 2 twisted strands with each other to form a ring on the sheet. Make sure to leave space for the dough to rise again. Create holes between the 2 intertwined strands and nestle the raw eggs into them. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30 minutes to an hour. Be careful not to overproof your dough.

7. Heat oven to 350F. Brush the ring with the egg wash and sprinkle with decorative sugar. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of your ring(s), until deep golden brown and fragrant!

A half-recipe loaf.