Pane di Pasqua is a colorful, braided, sweet bread that appears every Easter in Italian homes.
Pronounced ‘Pahn-eh dee paskwa’, the bread is flavored with citrus and anise, dusted with bright sprinkles or colored sugar, and topped with at least three hard boiled eggs to symbolize the Trinity. It is served after church on Easter Sunday as a way of breaking Lent (cause hellooooo sugar and butter).
This Easter, we are under quarantine, which still feels weird to say. Easter is my favorite holiday, and I usually spend it celebrating Jesus’ resurrection with my church family and my cousins. Instead, my parents and I are quarantining together and are aiming for a quiet dinner, and watching church services online. We’re grateful - it’s just different!
And now that my life is more health-focused, Pane di Pasqua is going to be a little different too.
I love sprinkles and the tradition of the colored eggs, but artificial food coloring is terrible for the body. We don’t even have it in the house, so I opted for fresh lemon zest and eliminated the colored eggs.
I love sprinkles and the tradition of the colored eggs, but artificial food coloring is terrible for the body. We don’t even have it in the house, so I opted for fresh lemon zest and eliminated the colored eggs.
Finally, I added a little Einkorn flour in with the all-purpose flour. Just a little. A sweet bread is not supposed to be healthy, but if I can cut down on the chemicals that are sprayed on most American wheat by using Young Living’s Einkorn Flour….I’mma do that.
Stay well, friends, and Buona Pasqua! He is Risen Indeed!
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup Young Living Einkorn Flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 tsp anise flavoring
- 7 drops Young Living Orange Vitality Essential Oil
- The zest of one lemon
- 3 cups all purpose, high quality flour
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 tbs. olive oil
- One egg lightly beaten for the egg wash
Icing
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 2-3 tbs. milk
- 5 drops of Young Living Orange Vitality Oil
- The zest of one lemon
Instructions
- Warm the milk in a saucepan to approximately 110ºF. If it’s too hot, it will kill the yeast. If it’s too cold, the yeast won’t respond. You are aiming for warmth. Take the warm milk and pour it into the bowl of your electric mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over it, and let sit for 5 minutes. Then slowly sprinkle the Einkorn flour, salt and sugar over the yeast mix and gently stir to combine. You can let this sit for a few minutes while you work on the other ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, combine your beaten eggs, anise flavoring, orange vitality oil, and lemon zest. While the mixer is running on low, pour the egg mixture into the Einkorn mix. Stir until combined. Slowly add one cup of the remaining flour at a time. Once the flour is incorporated, add the butter in squares, one at a time until they are thoroughly mixed in. The dough will be a little sticky, and that is fine. You want it to come away from the bowl a little. Form the dough into a ball, and rub the olive oil over the ball. This will keep the dough from getting that weird crust dough can get while it rises. Cover and let rise in a warm place for one hour.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down, and let it rest for 15-20 minutes. Flour a clean surface, and dump the dough out onto the surface. Slice the ball into 3 sections. Take one of those sections and roll out a rope until it is about 18-20 inches long. Bend the rope in half, and gently twist the dough until it forms one twisted rope. Form the rope into a circle, and pinch the two ends together. It will look like a wreath. Place the wreath on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and repeat the process for the other two sections of dough. Cover the three breads with a clean kitchen table, and allow to rise in a warm place for another 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375ºF. Brush the wreaths with the egg wash. Bake for 25 minutes or until they are golden. Allow to cool completely.
- To make the drizzle, combine the confectioner’s sugar, milk, and essential oils and stir until you get the desire consistency. Drizzle over the loaves, and sprinkle with fresh lemon zest.
These loaves are best served the day of, or the morning after. They are very, very rich so share one with a quarantine buddy and enjoy with a coffee.
Buona pasqua! Mangia!
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