This Easter Bread is easier to make than it looks and it’s the perfect addition to your Easter supper! This tasty loaf is ideal for bread puddings and simply delicious served with butter and jam.
Delicious Easter Bread
I love making bread, especially for the holidays. With Easter coming up, I wanted to share this great braided Easter Bread recipe! I love everything about baking bread, from kneading the dough, to the wonderful aromas that waft through the house as the bread is baking.
The texture is super soft on the inside with that gorgeous glossy finish from the egg wash on the outside; making it ideal to use for bread puddings. This Easter bread is strikingly impressive and while it may look like there is an extensive list of ingredients and steps, this bread is worth the endeavour.
Easter Bread Highlights
- Incredibly Light And Fluffy. Similar to a brioche bread, this bread is slightly sweet, soft and incredibly fluffy. Perfect to enjoy with some butter and jam with your morning coffee.
- Quite Simple To Make. If you’re scared of breads made with yeast, don’t be. The mixer does all the work.
- Very Versatile. While I love mine just with some butter and jam, this Easter bread is perfect in bread puddings, or great for French toast.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Milk – I used 2% Lactose Free, but any milk will do. It needs to be at around 110°F degrees, I usually just pop it in the microwave for 1 minute.
- Butter – I always use unsalted butter, especially in breads, because we already add salt, so this way I can control how much salt is added to my bread. Did you know that small quantities of butter is added to breads because it results in a higher rise and a crisper crust!
- Sugar – Granulated. Sugar is important when making bread, it’s what makes it soft and tender by absorbing some of the water and slowing down the formation of gluten strands. It’s what feeds the yeast.
- Water – Lukewarm. Lukewarm water is between 98 and 105°F.
- Yeast – I used active dry yeast today. You can use instant yeast as well, the difference really is that active dry yeast needs to be activated first, whereas with instant yeast it’s not necessary.
- Eggs – Large.
- Flour – I used all-purpose flour.
- Salt – Believe me, salt makes all the difference, so don’t skip this!
- Sesame Seeds – For the top! You can also substitute with poppy seeds.
How To Make Easter Bread
Make The Dough
- Activate The Yeast. Add the yeast, ½ cup of water, and 2 teaspoons of the sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer, stir and let it sit for 5 minutes until the yeast starts to activate and foam.
- Make The Dough. Add the remaining sugar, milk, melted butter, eggs, salt and 6 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture. Use the dough hook attachment to mix on low speed, until the dough basically comes clean from the side of the bowl. Add the remaining flour as needed. I used the full 6½ cups of flour. The dough should be sticky but it should come clean from the side of the bowl. Make sure to mix for about 5 to 7 minutes.
- First Rise. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray, place the dough in the bowl and spray the dough itself with a bit of cooking spray. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free environment until doubled in size, about 40 minutes to an hour. Once doubled in size, punch it down to release some of the air out.
Assemble And Bake:
- Shape Into Loaves. Divide the dough in half. I prefer to braid these loaves, but you can also just roll out each piece of dough into a loaf and place it into greased loaf pans. I prefer to do a 3 strand braid. To do so cut each half into 3 pieces, and roll each piece into long strips about a foot long. Braid and repeat with remaining dough.
- Preheat The Oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Second Rise. You can either place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or if you have 12-inch loaf pans, grease them well with cooking spray and place the loaves in them. Let them rise a second time until doubled in size in a warm, draft-free environment. Should take about 30 minutes.
- Bake. Brush the loaves with the egg wash all over. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds. Bake the bread for 30 minutes or until golden brown. If using loaf pans, let them cool for 10 minutes in the pans before transferring them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
What Is Easter Bread?
A slightly sweetened bread traditionally served on Easter Sunday. In many European countries, there are numerous traditions encompassing the use of bread during the Easter holiday. It is widely known that bread is significant for religious purposes.
Where Did The Name Come From?
The word “Easter” comes from “Eostre,” the name of the Anglo-Saxon goddess of light and spring. Each year, individuals would make special dishes to honor her in hopes that the year would be filled with fertility and prosperity.
Bread played a special role and some say that celebrating with it dates back to ancient times.
Other Ways To Decorate Easter Bread
There are many ways to decorate Easter bread. Another popular way is to make Italian Easter breads which are basically wreaths sprinkled with sprinkles with colored eggs in the middle of each wreath.
What If I Don’t Have A Stand Mixer?
No problem, you can always make the dough by hand. Simply mix everything together in a large bowl, then transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead the dough by hand for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Expert Tips
- Consistency is Key – This dough is very soft. If you find that your dough is too wet add some more flour! Just a little bit at a time until you get the correct consistency.
- Activate Your Yeast if Necessary! – If using active dry yeast, make sure you activate it first by dissolving it in a bit of warm water – no need if you are using instant yeast. If it does not begin to froth up, do not continue with the recipe.
- Use Fresh Yeast – Always check the expiration date on your yeast and make sure it hasn’t expired. All your yeast products whether it’s in a jar or a package should be stamped with a “Best if Used by” date. Always make sure you check this date, even when you purchase the yeast, who knows it could have been on the shelf past its expiry date.
- Storing Yeast – To keep your yeast fresh and longer lasting, unopened yeast packages or jars should be stored in a cool or dry place such as your cupboard. However, you can also store your yeast in the fridge or freezer. If you do store it in the freezer and need to use yeast for your baking, make sure you take out the amount you need and let it sit at room temperature for at least half hour before using.
- Keep Refrigerated After Opening! – Once your yeast package or jar has been opened, you must refrigerate the yeast or freeze it in an airtight container.
- Yeast is a living organism and over time it will lose activity – even if you’ve never opened the jar or package! If you don’t bake often, buy a smaller yeast package rather than a big jar.
Best Place For Dough To Rise
Dough thrives in a warm, draft-free environment. If your oven has a “proof” function, then use it. The “proof” function preheats the oven to 100°F degrees, causing a warm, but not hot environment for your dough to rise nicely.
If your oven doesn’t have this “proof” function, I would still use the oven. What I usually do is preheat the oven to 200°F degrees, or whatever the lowest setting is for it. Once it reaches that temperature, turn off the oven, then place the dough in there to rise. This will speed up the proofing process tremendously.
How To Serve
If you like jam with your bread, this is for you. Easter bread is glorious with a jam or fresh lemon curd, the soft texture of the bread is like nothing else. You could even toss some butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar to make a homemade cinnamon roll! Easter bread is also the perfect bread to use for bread pudding, or French toast! Even if you are serving it as is at dinner, it is sure to be a hit.
Storing Fresh Bread
It’s best to store your homemade bread at room temperature in a cool dry place for up to 2-3 days. Heat and humidity can cause your bread to mold and storing it in the refrigerator can turn it stale quickly.
To keep your Easter bread soft, store in an plastic bag or bread box.
More Delicious Bread Recipes To Try
- No Knead Dutch Oven Crusty Bread
- Raisin Bread
- Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
- Sunflower Bread
- Pasca – Romanian Easter Bread
- Brioche Bread
- Portuguese Sweet Bread Rolls
- Parker House Rolls
- Watermelon Look Alike Raisin Bread
- Challah
- Texas Roadhouse Rolls
- Easy Focaccia
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Braided Easter Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- ½ cup water lukewarm
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup milk warmed to 110F°
- 1 cup butter unsalted, melted
- 5 large eggs
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 6½ cups all-purpose flour or as needed
- 1 egg beaten, for egg wash
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prep the yeast: Add the yeast, ½ cup of water, and 2 teaspoons of the sugar to the bowl of your mixer, stir and let it sit for 5 minutes until the yeast starts to activate and foam.
- Make the dough: Add the remaining sugar, milk, melted butter, eggs, salt and 6 cups of the flour. Use the dough hook to mix on low speed, until the dough basically comes clean from the side of the bowl. Add the remaining flour as needed. I used the full 6½ cups of flour. The dough should be sticky but it should come clean from the side of the bowl. Make sure to mix for about 5 to 7 minutes.
- First Rise: Spray a large bowl with cooking spray, place the dough in the bowl and spray the dough itself with a bit of cooking spray. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free environment until doubled in size, about 40 minutes to an hour. Once doubled in size, punch it down to release some of the air out.
- Shape into loaves: Divide the dough in half. I prefer to braid these loaves, but you can also just roll out each piece of dough into a loaf and place it into greased loaf pans. I prefer to do a 3 strand braid. To do so cut each half into 3 pieces, and roll each piece into long strips about a foot long. Braid and repeat with remaining dough.
- Preheat oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Second rise: You can either place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or if you have 12-inch loaf pans, grease them well with cooking spray and place the loaves in them. Let them rise a second time until doubled in size in a warm, draft-free environment. Should take about 30 minutes.
- Bake: Brush the loaves with the egg wash all over. Sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds. Bake the bread for 30 minutes or until golden brown. If using loaf pans, let them cool for 10 minutes in the pans before transferring them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Notes
- This recipe yields 2 loaves.
- Nutritional information is per slice and assumes 12 slices per loaf.
- Please note that this dough is very soft and a bit sticky. If you find that your dough is too wet add some more flour, a little bit at a time.
- Always check the expiration date on your yeast and make sure it hasn’t expired. All your yeast products whether it’s in a jar or a package should be stamped with a “Best if Used by” date. Always make sure you check this date, even when you purchase the yeast, who knows it could have been on the shelf past its expiry date.
- To keep your yeast fresh and longer lasting, unopened yeast packages or jars should be stored in a cool or dry place such as your cupboard. However, you can also store your yeast in the fridge or freezer. If you do store it in the freezer and need to use yeast for your baking, make sure you take out the amount you need and let it sit at room temperature for at least half hour before using.
- Once your yeast package or jar has been opened, you must refrigerate the yeast or freeze it in an airtight container.
- One thing to remember about your yeast, is that it is a living organism and over time it will lose activity, even if you’ve never opened the jar or package. So if you don’t bake often, buy the smaller yeast packages rather than a big jar of yeast.
I’ve just found your page and trying to make a recipe each week SO far everyone I’ve tried has been GREAT !! Including this one – Came out perfect.
Hi Jo, I made your Easter bread. It turned out perfect! The dough was so easy to work with as you said it is soft and very pliable. My family loved it. I gave my son one loaf and kept one for myself. Thank you for all your hard work putting all these great recipes together for us. You and King Arthur Flour are my 2 go to sites for baking and cooking.
So glad you liked it! 🙂
I was going to try to use sourdough starter but it was too complicated to transfer so I did end up using your full recipe cut in half.
My bread turned out beautiful! I cut the recipe in half and only made one loaf. It came out light and a bit crumbly? Maybe similar to cornbread? Is that the correct texture or did I do something wrong?
Oh no, it shouldn’t be crumbly at all, should have the texture of a brioche bread. Maybe it was your yeast, hard to tell.
Could I use sourdough starter and all purpose King Arthur flour in this recipe?
Yeah you should be able to.
Hello…Recipe states to bake bread for 30 minutes if using loaf pans. But it doesn’t say how long to bake if using cookie sheet.
Thank you….love all your recipes.
Thanks, Cindy! It’s about the same time either way, totally depends on your oven. The bread is done when the internal temperature reaches 190°F.
The best home baked bread I ever had. I made this on Easter Sunday and I was amazed by the result. The bread is super soft and tasty even after few days. Everyone in my family loves it and definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing your recipe😀
That’s so great to hear! We’re glad everyone loved it 🙂
Hi Jo!!!! I love your stuff so much… anyways I’m making this tomorrow morning and again I only have 9 inch loaf pans… should I lower the temp and cook longer or do I think it will be ok at that temp?
It should be just fine at this temperature! Just keep a close eye on them as you may not need as much time.
One of my favourites. My family loves this recipe!