Thursday, March 20, 2008

EASTER BREAD

Hello and good morning and happy Spring!!! I just mixed up my first batch of this year's Easter bread and wanted to share the receipe with you!!! This is from my Italian mom, and I have been making it for 40 years now!!!

melt together in pan and then cool......1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup Crisco, pinch salt, 1/2 cup milk.

melt one package dry yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.

in large bowl, beat 6 eggs at room temp. with 1 1/2 cups sugar, vanilla, lemon extract or anisette, zest from a lemon.

add other liquids and yeast mix. blend well.

Start adding flour until you can no longer mix by hand. Dump batter on well floured board, knead and add flour until no longer sticky and elastic. You will use close to 10 cups of flour. Put in greased bowl, cover, wrap well in towels or blanket near heat source, let rise till double.

Punch down and on floured board, shape dough a bit at a time. In bread pan fill 1/2 full, on cookie sheets shape into rounds, braids, small rabbits, or twisted rounds. Cover well again and let rise till doubled. Heat oven to 350 degrees, brush each piece with beaten egg, bake for 20 min. to 1/2 hour until browned. Sometimes I add golden raisons to the batter before kneading.

My mom used to make each of us a doll with a hard boiled egg in the center. I make small rabbits. Happy baking.....

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