Grandma’s Easter Bread

Description

A recipe from our friend Patricia Lilly. This “Pizza di Pasqua” was from her grandmother’s family. Exquisite when lightly toasted and spread with butter and a small amount of honey!

Ingredients

  • 5 cups bread flour, or more as needed
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • ⅔ cup grated Romano cheese
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 1 medium Oranges, raw, California, valencias
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 3 large eggs, beaten slightly
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Combine 5 cups flour
  2. 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
  3. Romano cheese
  4. cinnamon
  5. and salt in a large bowl; stir well and set aside.
  6. Stir warm water and yeast together in a small bowl. Set aside until dissolved and bubbly
  7. 5 to 10 minutes.
  8. Zest and juice orange into a large bowl. Stir in melted butter
  9. eggs
  10. and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir in yeast mixture. Add flour mixture gradually
  11. stirring as you go.
  12. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes
  13. adding up to 1 extra cup of flour as needed to keep dough manageable. Transfer to an oiled bowl
  14. cover
  15. and let rise until almost doubled in size
  16. about 30 to 60 minutes.
  17. Punch dough down
  18. cover and let rise again until almost doubled in size
  19. 30 to 60 minutes.
  20. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease two 8-inch round loaf pans.
  21. Cut dough into 2 equal pieces and shape into loaves. Place in the prepared pans
  22. cover
  23. and let rise again until almost doubled in size
  24. 30 to 60 minutes.
  25. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
  26. about 70 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cook on a wire rack.

Prep Time: 25 mins

Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Total Time: 3 hrs 10 mins

Servings: 16

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