Grandpa Joe's
Easter Bread

Another delicious annual treat!

About this recipe

Easter is an important holiday in many countries, Italy certainly being one of them.  My grandparents were born in Italy, and they worked hard to keep their Easter traditions alive.  At the time, I only enjoyed the food.  I had no inkling of why these particular foods were so important to them.  Fortunately, I found this recipe in my father's files a few years ago.  I have only revised some of the terminology (e.g., I doubt my grandparents used instant yeast, but they did use a packet of yeast).

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups warm water
  • 1 package instant dry yeast
  • 3 teaspoons salt
  • 6 eggs, hard-boiled and colored
  • 1 egg, beaten

Directions

  1. Mix together flour, water, yeast and salt.  Place the dough in a floured bowl, cover, and let it rise for about 30 minutes.
  2. Form the dough into a large doughnut shape.  Place a large bowl inside the hole so the dough doesn’t close up while baking. 
  3. Place the colored hard-boiled eggs, evenly spaced, on top of the dough.  Push into the dough so that some dough comes up on the sides and slightly on the top of the eggs.  Brush the top with beaten egg.  Let rise, covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes. 
  4. Bake in preheated 350° F oven for 1 hour.  Reduce the oven temperature to 250° F and bake 1 hour longer, or until the bread is nicely browned.
Posted: January 2014.