Description
My husband fondly recalls the Anise Bread that his Italian grandmother used to make during the holidays. She evidently never had a recipe (and never used a bread machine!) so this is what I came up with for a quick, special Christmas bread. This rich bread has a wonderful aroma while baking.
Ingredients
- ½ cup hazelnuts
- 1 cup eggnog, plus
- 1 tablespoon eggnog
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons anise seed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon eggnog
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Spread hazelnuts evenly on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted
- about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven
- transfer the nuts to a bowl
- and let them cool.
- Place the eggnog
- sugar
- salt
- butter
- egg
- egg yolk
- bread flour
- yeast
- anise seed
- and cinnamon into the bread machine. Program the machine for a basic cycle with the crust as “medium.” Press start. Do not use the delay timer.
- Place the cooled toasted hazelnuts into the machine between Knead Cycle 1 and Knead Cycle 2. When the baking cycle ends
- immediately remove the bread from the pan and allow it to cool on a rack.
- Prepare the glaze by combining the confectioners’ sugar and eggnog in a bowl; mix well. It should be a drizzling consistency. Drizzle the glaze on the cooled bread before slicing.
Prep Time: 25 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 3 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 16