Italian Easter Egg Bread

This Italian Easter egg bread is not only tasty but makes for a really pretty centerpiece on your dinner table.  It’s formed into a braided loaf or wreath and decorated with colored eggs. You can get the whole family involved in making it. Let the kids color the eggs while you prepare the bread.

We have this bread every year for Easter. Honestly, we have it at other times too just without the colored eggs! My daughter is the baker of the family and I must say, she makes delicious bread. This one is my mom’s recipe and it’s is similar to a brioche bread – one of our favorites!

Italian Easter Egg Bread

Scroll down for a printable recipe card!

Even if you aren’t an expert baker, this recipe is quite easy. Don’t let the amount of time it takes deter you. Most of that time is for letting the dough rise. You can simply walk away and do something else. And trust me, all that time is completely worth it!

Ingredients:

2 pkg. dry yeast

1/2 c. warm water

1/2 c. butter

3/4 c. milk

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 tsp. salt

5 c. flour

7 eggs

1 tsp. water

Instructions: 

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.  Melt the butter, add the milk and heat until it’s just barely warm.  Pour this into the bowl containing the yeast.  Mix in the sugar, eggs, and salt.

Stir in the flour a cup at a time until you have a soft dough.  Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and sprinkle on more flour a bit at a time if the dough is too sticky. 

Knead well until it’s smooth and elastic.  Put the dough in a buttered bowl, cover with a tea towel, and place in a warm area for about an hour until it doubles in size.

Punch down the dough.  Split the dough into 3 equal sections and roll each one of them into a snake about 1 1/2 feet long.  Put the three strands next to each other and braid them. 

You might want to experiment with different ways of braiding it. I find it easiest to start the braiding in the middle and work out to each end to avoid any rips in the dough. 

Form the braid (and then turn into a wreath shape if desired) and place on a buttered cookie sheet. 

Use three to six of the eggs as the wreath decorations.  If you have extras, they look nice nestled in the center of the wreath or added around the bread on the platter as “garnish”.

Some people colour the raw eggs and then place them, still raw, into the wreath allowing them to cook as the bread bakes.  I prefer to soft boil them (and dye them) first because I find it gives better results. 

When my mom used to make this, she would make “wells” in the dough and bake it without any eggs in it at all, adding them after the bread was baked but this was taking a chance because if the bread doesn’t rise or bake up just right, you may lose those wells or they may not be the right size to hold the eggs. 

Sink the dyed eggs into the dough evenly around the wreath.  Cover the bread with a tea towel and let it rise again until it doubles in size once more.

Beat one egg with 1 tsp. water to make a wash and brush that over the bread.  Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes until golden brown.

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Italian Easter Braided Loaf

This Italian Easter egg bread is not only tasty but makes for a really pretty centerpiece on your dinner table.  It’s formed into a braided loaf or wreath and then decorated with coloured eggs.

Course Breads

Cuisine Italian

Keyword braided bread, Easter, Easter eggs

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Rising Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Servings 12

Calories 524 kcal

Ingredients

• 2 pkg. dry yeast
• 1/2 c. warm water
• 1/2 c. butter
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 5 c. flour
• 7 eggs
• 1 tsp. water

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.  Melt the butter, add the milk and heat until it’s just barely warm.  Pour this into the bowl containing the yeast.  Mix in the sugar, eggs, and salt.
2. Stir in the flour a cup at a time until you have a soft dough.  Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and sprinkle on more flour a bit at a time if the dough is too sticky.  Knead well until it’s smooth and elastic.  Put the dough in a buttered bowl, cover with a tea towel, and place in a warm area for about an hour until it doubles in size.
3. Punch down the dough.  Split the dough into 3 equal sections and roll each one of them into a snake about 1 1/2 feet long.  Put the three strands next to each other and braid them.  It’s easiest to start the braiding in the middle and work out to each end to avoid any rips in the dough.  Form the braid into a wreath shape and place on a buttered cookie sheet.

4. Use three to six of the eggs as the wreath decorations.  If you have extras, they look nice nestled in the center of the wreath or added around the bread on the platter as "garnish".
   
   Some people colour the raw eggs and then place them, still raw, into the wreath allowing them to cook as the bread bakes.  I prefer to soft boil them (and dye them) first because I find it gives better results.

5. When my mom used to make this, she would make “wells” in the dough and bake it without any eggs in it at all, adding them after the bread was baked but this was taking a chance because if the bread doesn’t rise or bake up just right, you may lose those wells or they may not be the right size to hold the eggs.  Sink the dyed eggs into the dough evenly around the wreath.  Cover the bread with a tea towel and let it rise again until it doubles in size once more.
6. Beat one egg with 1 tsp. water to make a wash and brush that over the bread.  Bake at 350 degrees F for about 25 minutes until golden brown.

Nutrition Facts

Italian Easter Braided Loaf

Amount Per Serving

Calories 524 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Fat 13g20%

Saturated Fat 7g44%

Cholesterol 145mg48%

Sodium 365mg16%

Potassium 171mg5%

Carbohydrates 86g29%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 11g12%

Protein 15g30%

Vitamin A 449IU9%

Calcium 52mg5%

Iron 5mg28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.