Easter Bread is a beautiful centerpiece for your spring celebrations, made with buttery homemade dough and pops of bright Easter eggs!
Rich in symbolism and flavor, Easter Bread is a spring tradition that is fun to make and provides a beautiful centerpiece for Easter dinner. Gather your flour, butter, eggs, yeast, and sugar, along with a few jewel-toned eggs to create a stunning and traditional bread to serve with your favorite Easter dishes!
Egg-cellent Easter
Eggs. Bunnies. Candy and spring. This time of year is rich with symbolism and beautiful bright decorations! Making Easter Bread with the family is a wonderful way to celebrate and my kids always have fun decorating the eggs while I focus on the bread. This simple bread is rich and lightly sweet, which compliments some of the heavier food we enjoy at Easter, like ham and potatoes!
Colorful treats and sweets are perfect for Easter, so have plenty on hand, like Easter Bunny Chow and Easter Crock Pot Candy!
Other Recipes to Serve with Easter Bread
- Instant Pot Ham is a delicious main dish to serve for Easter brunch or dinner, surrounded by lots of yummy sides!
- Serve all your special bunnies an incredibly flavorful and perfect Easter side dish of Liz’s Candied Carrots!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients: To make this bread you will need all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, dry yeast, and a pinch of salt.
Wet Ingredients: A warm cup of milk, an egg, unsalted butter, and vanilla extract are also needed for this recipe. The milk should be no hotter than 113 degrees F so that it doesn’t kill the yeast.
Eggs: The highlight of this bread is a few dyed eggs, which must be dyed and dried before adding to the bread. The eggs can be raw and, once cooked with the bread, will have a soft-boiled consistency or you can use hard-boiled eggs, which will be overdone after cooking the bread.
Egg Wash: Give the bread a shine by brushing either a whisked egg or a few tablespoons of milk over it before baking it.
Sprinkles: Add a dash of nonpareil sprinkles to the bread before baking for even more color!
How to Make Easter Bread
STEP ONE: Mix the wet and dry ingredients in a large bowl. Knead the dough for at least five minutes to fully develop the gluten.
STEP TWO: Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise for 60 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.
STEP THREE: Preheat the oven to 340 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Empty the bowl of dough onto a floured surface and divide it into three equal parts. Roll each part into a rope about 30 inches long and place them side by side. Pinch the ends of the three pieces together and then braid the ropes together. Form the braid into a circle and then pinch the ends together.
STEP FOUR: Press the dyed eggs into the braid folds and allow the bread to rise for 20 minutes. Brush the bread with the egg or milk wash, avoiding the colored eggs, then top with sprinkles.
STEP FIVE: Bake the bread for 30 minutes, until golden. Remove the bread from the oven and cool slightly, or to room temperature, before slicing and serving.
Tips for Success
- The egg dye will color a little of the bread where they are placed and this is normal. However, when applying the egg wash, try not to brush the dyed eggs, too, as the colors will bleed and look less pretty.
- Make sure the dyed eggs are dehydrated before adding them to the bread to avoid too much wetness and color leaking on the bread.
- Check the temperature of your milk before adding it to the bread mix. Milk that is too hot will kill the yeast and the bread will not rise. Aim for 110 degrees F but definitely not hotter than 115 degrees F.
- It always feels like a celebration is happening when sprinkles are involved, but if you prefer not to use them, that’s ok.
How do I store the bread?
Like all bread, freshly baked bread is absolutely divine, but you can also store this bread to enjoy later. After brunch or dinner is over and you’re ready to clear everything away, take the eggs out of the bread and store them in the fridge for up to about three days. Place the bread in an airtight container or Ziplock bag and store it on the counter for up to five days. You can also make Eater Bread the day before and keep it covered in the fridge to ensure the eggs don’t go bad.
How do I dye eggs for Easter Bread?
For this beautiful presentation, there is no need to do anything different regarding dying the eggs! Combine 3 1/2 cups of boiling water with one teaspoon of vinegar and as much food coloring as needed to create your desired color. The eggs you use can be raw or hard-boiled, either is fine and both will take the colors well. Also, if you don’t have vinegar, you can substitute it with a little lemon juice or leave it out. To achieve a bright color an acid, like vinegar or lemon juice, is needed to create the right chemical reaction. If you leave the vinegar out the result will be pastel-colored eggs.
Indulge in More Delicious Easter Dishes and Treats!
- Spinach and Mushroom Quiche
- Lemon Trifle
- Lemon Butter Broccolini
- Baked Ham with Brown Sugar Glaze
- Cream Cheese Mints
Ingredients
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup lukewarm milk (105 to 112 degrees F)
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3 teaspoons active dry yeast (see note)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 4-6 dyed hard-boiled eggs
- 3 tablespoons milk or 1 beaten egg
- Sprinkles for garnish
Instructions
- Place the flour, milk, butter, sugar, 1 egg, yeast, vanilla, and salt into a big mixing bowl (or stand mixer with the hook attachment). Knead together for at least 5 minutes, but 10 minutes is best to properly strengthen the gluten development.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let rest the dough rest for about 1 hour until it has doubled in size.
- Preheat your oven to 340 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Roll each piece into a 30-inch long rope. Place the ropes side by side lengthwise and pinch the top ends together. Braid the ropes together. Then, form a circle and pinch the ends together.
- Place the dough ring onto the prepared baking sheet. Press the dyed eggs into the braid, placing one egg over the pinched ends to hide it. Cover the dough to let it rise again for 20 minutes.
- Brush the top of the braid with milk or a beaten egg, and then top with sprinkles. Pro Tip: Try to avoid getting egg wash on the dyed eggs when brushing the dough, it will destroy the color when baked if you do.
- Bake until golden, about 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Transfer to a serving plate, cut into slices, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Active dry yeast comes in 7g packets which is about 2 1/4 teaspoons. So you will need two packets to have enough yeast for the bread.
- Nutritional information is for 1/8 of the bread ring with 1/2 of a hard-boiled egg.
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