I like making desserts for the holidays. That's not a secret. But sometimes I just can't eat anymore sweets. This was one of those months. So when I went looking for Easter recipes I didn't go right to the desserts. I still wanted something fun but I wanted it to be more savory.
I found the perfect Easter bread. I actually made something similar two years ago but this one was neat because it was individual sized. The bread is similiar to Challah bread in that it uses butter, eggs, and some sugar. I think it adds a little more sugar then traditional bread, but it's so good.
The cool thing is that you have to dye raw eggs for this recipe. After they are dyed you place them in the dough. Then you brush the dough with egg wash, sprinkle on some colorful sprinkles, and bake! When the loaves come out each braided bread has a colored hard boiled egg baked right in the middle of it!
The braided breads are a little big for one person so what I did was give one to each couple. They could enjoy their bread and share the egg if they wanted. It is a slightly sweet bread and is awesome with either honey butter or just regular butter. It is super tender and tastes amazing.
- 1 packet of instant yeast
- 1¼ c. warm milk
- 1 t. salt
- ⅓ c. butter, at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ c. sugar
- 3½-4½ c. flour
- egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon of water)
- 6 uncooked Easter eggs, dyed
- Sprinkles
- Mix together the yeast, milk, salt, butter, eggs, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add two cups of flour and beat until smooth.
- Continue to add the remaining flour just until a dough forms. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 5-7 minutes. Add more dough as needed.
- Transfer to an oiled bowl, turning once to coat both sides.
- Place a tea towel on top of the bowl and allow it to rise for 1-1½ hours. or until doubled.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone liners.
- Punch down the dough and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 14 inch rope.
- Twist two of the ropes together to form a braid. Place the ends together and pinch to form a circle. Repeat with remaining dough ropes. Place the circle bread on the lined baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the tops of the bread with egg wash. Sprinkl with the sprinkles.
- Place one decorated egg in the center of each dough. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the bread is golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here.
Links are also updated after each event on the BreadBakers home page.
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla has chosen breads from around the world that are traditional for Easter, Passover or Springtime.
If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.
Here's our International Easter/Passover/Spring Bread Basket, in alphabetical order:
- Bacci Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Casatiello by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Choereg - Armenian Easter Bread by Chef Mireille's East West Realm
- Colomba Pasquale (Easter Dove Bread) by Cook's Hideout
- Cornish Saffron Easter Bread by Pastry Chef Online
- Folar (Portuguese Easter Bread) by Passion Kneaded
- Hot Cross Buns by En la Cocina de Caro
- Hornazo De Salamanca - Spanish Easter Bread by Ruchik Randhap
- Hungarian Egg Twist by Hostess at Heart
- Hungarian White Bread by Magnolia Days
- Individual Braided Easter Bread by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
- Italian Easter Bread by La Cocina de Aisha
- Lambropsomo - Greek Easter Bread by Spice Roots
- Lithuanian Easter Raisin Bread by My Catholic Kitchen
- Matzo by A Shaggy Dough Story
- Mennonite Paska by Food Lust People Love
- Pääsiäisleipä - Finnish Easter Bread by Bakers and Best
- Pane di Pasqua - Italian Easter Bread Wreath by Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Polish Bobka Easter Bread by Seduction in the Kitchen
- Russian Kulich by That's My Home
- Springtime Sweet Bread by Cooking club
- Strawberry Fritters by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
- Tsoureki (Greek Easter Bread) by Simply Veggies
shilpi
Cute, delicious looking lovely bread...
vimala lakshmi
I love the presentation of your bread and love the explanation and picture given for dying the eggs...............
Pavani
Your individual braided breads look so cute. Love the Easter eggs in the center -- I didn't know that eggs hard boil in the oven.
Sarah
These are far too cute.. I'm jealous!
Shireen
These breads are beautiful! I have been looking at similar breads and always thought we were required to hard boil the eggs first before placing them in the oven! They are such lovely individual gifts!
Aisha
Love them with those colour sprinkles!!
Julie is HostessAtHeart
I love that you made individual servings! They really came out nice.
Mireille
one of the prettiest Easter breads I have ever seed
Cindys Recipes and Writings
These remind me of pretty spring flowers!
Karen @ Karen's Kitchen Stories
I've always been nervous about the eggs! Your loaves look adorable!!!!
Wendy, A Day in the Life on the Farm
I just love these little individual loaves of bread and I always wondered how they kept the eggs from turning into rocks, I never thought about dying raw eggs LOL.
Ansh
How pretty and festive. I have made these before for my daughter's school but I never thought of adding festive sprinkles!! clever idea.
jenni
These are so pretty, and the sprinkles make them very festive! I might even choose these over dessert. Maybe. lol
Beautiful bread!
Adam
All of these bright pastel colored breads are so pretty, and I really like that they are individually sized!
Nikki @Seeded at the Table
Good job! They look so cute! 🙂
Veronica Gantley
What adorable bread. I love that you put the eggs in the middle. The addition of sprinkles gives it a wonderful spring look.
Stacy
I always thought the eggs were hard boiled first, Heather! Who knew? Your little loaves are so pretty and I love that they are perfect for two people to share.
HezziD
They hard boil in the oven! It's great!
Renee
Oh what cute little breads! The colored eggs and sprinkles really make these loaves stand out.
HezziD
Thanks Renee, the sprinkles are my favorite part!