Braided Easter Bread

This traditional Easter bread appears in a number of cultures. Families of Greek heritage use only red dyed eggs. The raw eggs are placed in the bread dough with their shells on. They cook as the bread bakes.

We've included a yeast bread recipe below. But if you don’t have the time or the patience you can still make a beautiful bread using 3 tubes of French-style bread dough from the grocery store.

You'll need:

• 1 Yeast bread recipe (see below) OR 3 tubes of French-style bread dough from the grocery store
• 3 - 6 raw eggs – dyed bright spring colors
• 1 ½ cups of dried fruit – diced (We found a mix of apricots, apples, raisin, and cranberries)
• Cinnamon – optional
• Flour for the board
• A little help from an adult or older sibling

Equipment:

• A cookie sheet

1. Begin by heating the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Next, shake a little flour the counter. This will keep the bread dough from sticking while you work. You can also flour the cookie sheet at the same time.
3. Divide the bread dough into three pieces. Roll and stretch those three pieces into long “ropes.”
4. Take each rope and make a groove down the center. Shake some cinnamon into the groove. Load each groove with about a third of the dried fruit bits.
5. Push the fruit into the bread dough. As you push the fruit in, you will see that the dough oozes up around it. Close these two sides up as best you can.
6. Lay the three bread ropes side by side.
7. Braiding the bread is a great two-person job. One person can hold the three ends of the bread ropes together. The other person begins by crossing the bread rope on the left over the one in the middle, then doing the same with the one on the right. Repeat this until you have braided all the bread to the end. Don’t worry if the fruit bits pop out. You can push them back into the dough later.
8. Working together, lift the braided bread onto the cookie sheet and arrange it into a circle. Tuck the ends under so bread makes a pretty wreath. Press dried fruit into any areas that are just dough.
9. Take the raw colored eggs and gently nestle them between the bread ropes.

Yeast Bread

Yeast is a living thing. It comes dried in packets. Yeast is a little like sea monkeys that will start to grow again given liquid and food. The liquid here is milk and the food is sugar. Once the yeast starts to grow, you need to keep it in a warm draft-free place.

You'll need:

• 1 cup of milk
• ½ stick of butter
• 5 cups of all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 ½ packages of rapid-rise yeast
• 3 eggs
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• A lot of adult help

Equipment:

• A heat-proof glass measuring cup
• A small bowl
• A large bowl
• An electric mixer with a large bowl and a bread hook

1. In a small bowl, mix 1 cup of the flour with all the sugar and yeast.
2. Put the milk and butter into a heat-proof glass measuring cup and microwave for about 30-40 seconds or until the milk is warm but not hot and the butter is softened. If the milk is too hot, let it set for a few minutes until it cools off a bit, because while the yeast needs warmth to grow, heat will kill it.
3. Pour the milk and butter mixture into the large bowl of the electric mixer. Add your flour and yeast mixture a little at a time to the milk, stirring all the time with the mixer set on low. Now you what’s known as the "sponge."
4. Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover with plastic wrap. Set it in a warm place, away from drafts, for about 30 minutes until the sponge gets bubbly.
5. Break the eggs into a small bowl.
6. Fit the bowl with the sponge in it on your mixer. This time have dad, or whoever is helping you, put the bread hook on the mixer.
7. With the mixer set on low, add the eggs one at a time. Mix well.
8. Measure out 1 cup of flour and add in the salt. Add the flour and salt to the yeast mixture a little at a time.
9. Now add the rest of the flour, little by little, until you have a soft, sticky dough. You may not have to use all 5 cups of flour.
10. Continue working the dough with the mixer or take it out of the bowl and knead it by hand until it is smooth.
11. Coat the large bowl with the oil.
12. While your hands are still oily, put the dough in the oiled bowl and roll it around until the dough is lightly coated with oil.
13. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it back in the warm, draft-free place for about 1 ½ hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
14. Flour your working surface and your hands. and take the dough out of the bowl.
15. Take the dough out of the bowl and divide it into 2 round loaves or 3 ropes for braiding.