Growing up in a Sicilian household, we had numerous different holiday traditions. In my family, we had Feast of the Seven Dishes for Christmas Eve, Zeppole for St. Joseph’s Day, lentils for New Year's Eve and Easter was no exception. There was cassata cake, which is so incredibly decadent and sweet I get a toothache just thinking about it! The rich cannoli-like filling in between layers of sponge cake covered in marzipan and decorated with candied fruit. It is the one thing we always just bought because it was a definite labor of love to accomplish such a pretty feat. One of my favorite treats though is Pane de Pasqua, or Sicilian Easter bread, and it really is best homemade.
This sweet dough, similar to brioche, had a colorful dyed egg in the center and we all know how much I love eggs! Every culture has its own food associated with different holidays, and I love learning about different cultures, so I thought I would share one of mine.
Sicilian Easter Bread (Pane de Pasque)
Yield: 4 small rings
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 3 hours
For the dough:
- Zest/juice of 1 orange
- 1/2 teaspoon ground anise
- 1/2 c sugar
- 1 1/4 cup lukewarm milk (about 110⁰)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 1/4 teaspoon. active dry yeast
- 2 eggs (room temperature) (slightly beaten)
- 3-4 c all purpose flour
- Teaspoon of salt
For the egg wash:
- 1 egg
- 1 Tablespoon milk
For the topping:
- 2-4 eggs (uncooked and dyed whatever color you like)
- 2-4 tablespoons sprinkles (optional)
For the dough:
1. In a small pot, gently warm the milk, butter and sugar until the butter has melted and it reaches approximately 110⁰. Be careful not to get it too hot!
2.In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the milk and butter mixture, yeast, zest, anise. Then add the beatened egg and orange juice.
3. Switch to the dough hook attachment and add 2 cups of flour and salt. Knead for approximately 1 minute just to combine. Continue to add the rest of the flour until a soft, tacky dough ball forms.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic and let rise 1 hour, every 15 minutes fold both ends into the middle (repeating 4 times).
5. Move the dough to a lightly floured flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 parts. Roll each part into 2 ropes; join 2 ropes at the top and twist the ends one over the other.
6. Join the ends to form a wreath; repeat with the remaining ropes. Place the wreaths on a parchment paper (I was out so I used foil) lined cookie sheet, cover and let rise in a warm draft free area for 30 minutes or doubled in size.
7. When 15 minutes before rising time has finished, pre-heat the oven to 350⁰.
8. Brush the wreaths with the egg wash, and add a dyed uncooked egg to the center of the wreath. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden, or when tapped on the bottom and there is a hollow sound. The internal temp should be around 190⁰.
9. Immediately move the baked buns to a wire rack to cool. Let cool before serving. Enjoy!
This bread can really be served any time of the year, with or without the egg in the center. I was out of sprinkles but they really do make this bread even more festive so I suggest to use them if you have them.
I would love to hear about any food traditions you and your families share during the holidays. Please drop a line in the comments if you make something special every year for specific holidays.
If you are really into making bread, I have another great sweet dough recipe for you to practice your skills! Our Artisanal Breads Boot Camp at The Chopping Block fills up very quickly but what a lot of people don’t know is that we can also host private one-on-one sessions on any subject matter via Zoom! Our custom virtual tutoring is the perfect way to cook in your own kitchen with a trained chef helping you every step of the way.
Also, in our Culinary Boot Camp 2, there is a whole day devoted to learning the ins and outs of all homemade doughs from buttery dinner rolls, pie dough, pizza dough to pasta, pastries and more. I hope to see you soon in any of our awesome classes!
Sicilian Easter Bread (Pane de Pasque)
Ingredients
- Zest/juice of 1 orange
- 1/2 teaspoon ground anise
- 1/2 c sugar
- 1 1/4 cup lukewarm milk (about 110⁰)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 1/4 teaspoon. active dry yeast
- 2 eggs (room temperature) (slightly beaten)
- 3-4 c all purpose flour
- Teaspoon of salt
- 1 egg
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- 2-4 eggs (uncooked and dyed whatever color you like)
- 2-4 tablespoons sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- In a small pot, gently warm the milk, butter and sugar until the butter has melted and it reaches approximately 110⁰. Be careful not to get it too hot!
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the milk and butter mixture, yeast, zest, anise. Then add the beatened egg and orange juice.
- Switch to the dough hook attachment and add 2 cups of flour and salt. Knead for approximately 1 minute just to combine. Continue to add the rest of the flour until a soft, tacky dough ball forms.
- Cover the bowl with plastic and let rise 1 hour, every 15 minutes fold both ends into the middle (repeating 4 times).
- Move the dough to a lightly floured flat surface. Divide the dough into 8 parts. Roll each part into 2 ropes; join 2 ropes at the top and twist the ends one over the other.
- Join the ends to form a wreath; repeat with the remaining ropes. Place the wreaths on a parchment paper (I was out so I used foil) lined cookie sheet, cover and let rise in a warm draft free area for 30 minutes or doubled in size.
- When 15 minutes before rising time has finished, pre-heat the oven to 350⁰.
- Brush the wreaths with the egg wash, and add a dyed uncooked egg to the center of the wreath. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden, or when tapped on the bottom and there is a hollow sound. The internal temp should be around 190⁰.
- Immediately move the baked buns to a wire rack to cool. Let cool before serving. Enjoy!
