Recipe: Easter egg bread

Another holiday is upon us. This could only mean one thing: time to feast. Not a holiday goes by without our family gathering around a table that is constantly replenished with delicious and tasty treats.

I like to keep my chair next to the cheese platter, sometimes rotating to the other end for a dabble in the deviled eggs, always being sure to grab a bite of shrimp cocktail before it’s all gone. These are just a few of the basic staples you will find at any given time, on any given holiday in our household. I especially love the spinach dip bowl created inside a loaf of pumpernickel bread, but I don’t think that made the cut this holiday.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, (I thought you were paying attention) my family and I love to enjoy good eats. We are the ‘I love meat, cheese and bread’ kind of folk.

Eliminating these things from our diet would probably cause some sort of withdrawal and pose some family members to go into a full body shock.

Most of us are aware that these food items can be detrimental to our health if eaten to often and on a daily basis, that’s why when it comes to holidays we use that as the greatest excuse to indulge in our favorites.

Like many of you, we have found ourselves on a rollercoaster of diets, going from vegan to cutting out sugar. I do have to admit that riding the waves of eating right has made me more aware of what I put into my body but when it comes to a holiday feast, I’m all in.

I know that sitting around a table surrounded by the sounds of laughter and glasses clanking, along with a feast fit for a king isn’t going to kill me. And I know that the week long process of planning and prepping and cooking this food is what gives you the satisfaction of having a successful holiday. (Insert credit here to any and all family members for their participation in the creation of our usual feast fit for a king.)

All in all we are sure to have every food group covered, even the food group labeled bread and dessert. Oh, you haven’t heard of that one? Well I’m sure it’s on that food pyramid somewhere. Traditionally we always have a lamb cake. What is this you ask? It is a dense yellow cake in the shape of a lamb, nesting itself in a sea of green coconut grass surrounded by malted chocolate eggs with two jelly beans for eyes. This is something my grandmother used to make every Easter. She was always sure to keep it up on a high table so we grandchildren couldn’t poke at this creature made of sugar, trying to figure out its true being. So without a doubt, as tradition has it, a lamb cake is created by aunts and uncles near and far.

Dessert is taken care of. Now for the second half of our favorite food group, bread. Easter egg bread, that fancy twisted sweet bread with hard boiled eggs baked right into it and little sprinkles on top, is another tradition in our family. Someone always appears with one, typically store bought but still delicious.

Just to put a twist in things I took on the roll of baking some Easter egg bread at home this year. I found it was quite fun and pretty simple for bread baking. This recipe is for 6 min loaves, perfect for sharing with friends and family. Feel free to make into one big loaf or however many you like!

Easter Egg Bread
Yield: 6 Mini Loaves
Ingredients:
1 Package Rapid Rise Yeast
½ C. Sugar
1 ½ C. Milk
6 T. Butter, room temperature
3 Eggs
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp. of Orange extract or 1 tsp. of orange zest and 1 T. of fresh orange juice
6 C. of all purpose flour
1 T. vegetable oil
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. of water

4-6 Dyed Hard-boiled eggs, unpeeled
Pearl Sugar Sprinkles

• Place the milk and butter in a small saucepan and warm. Do not boil, temperature should not reach over 130 degrees or it will kill the yeast.
• In a mixing bowl combine the yeast, sugar, 2 cups of the flour, orange extract and 3 eggs. Add the warmed milk and butter to the bowl. Using a dough hook or by hand, combine the ingredients, adding more flour until a dough forms. Keep adding flour until the dough is not sticky any longer.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, approximately 5 minutes.
• Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover and place in a draft free spot until the dough has doubled in size, about an hour.
• Remove dough from the bowl and punch down. Divide into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a 12- 14 inch rope. Using two ropes, attach together at one end and then twist into a ‘braid’. Bring the ends of the twisted braid together forming a circle. Repeat with remaining ropes.
• Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover. Allow to rise double in size, about another hour.
• Brush each loaf with egg wash. Sprinkle with colored pearl sugar and nestle one dyed hardboiled egg into the center of the loaf. Bake in a 375 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes.

*Please note, if loaves are left out for an extended period of time, please avoid eating the hardboiled eggs in the loaf, unless kept refrigerated.

Kayleigh Van Vliet Baig was born and raised in Riverhead, where she lives with her husband Tahir.

Kayleigh has been in the culinary industry for the last 12 years, working in kitchens on the East End. She also is a personal chef.

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Look for In the Kitchen with Kayleigh every Saturday on RiverheadLOCAL.com.