We had so many great submissions when we asked for your Easter and Springtime favorite recipes, but this one definitely stood out.
We would like to thank WOT reader Danielle Morone from Bend, Oregon for submitting this recipe! We hope you will enjoy making these Easter Bread Wreaths as much as we did! In true Women of Today fashion, we rigorously tested this recipe (and made a couple of changes) and found that it really does taste as good as it looks!
This recipe is for a brioche bread — Meaning it is a very ‘rich’ bread (because it contains eggs, milk and butter). A couple good tips to know: First, make sure your yeast is not old or expired!
Second, pay attention to your butter temperature. It needs to be at room temperature so the dough is even in texture. Finally, when you are doing your fist rise, try and make sure your bowl is in a warm nook and not somewhere cold.
We hope you enjoy this bread as much as we did! The recipe yields 2 weaths.
Easter Bread Wreaths
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup lukewarm milk
- 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 eggs, room temperature and slightly beaten
- 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
- 4 eggs, hardboiled and dyed whatever color you like
- 1-2 tsp sprinkles if desired
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, whisk together the flour, salt, zest, and sugar, make a well in the center and add the milk and yeast, mix together with a fork.
- Then add the slightly beaten eggs. With the dough hook attachment knead for approximately 1 minute just to combine.
- Cover the bowl and let rise 2 hours, every 30 minutes fold both ends into the middle (repeating 4 times).
- When the time has passed add the butter a little at a time, on medium high speed with the dough hook, knead just to combine all the butter, then let the dough rest 10 minutes.
- Knead again for 5-6 minutes until smooth and the dough does not stick to the sides of the bowl.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Move the dough to a lightly floured flat surface. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Divide each piece of dough in half and roll each part into 2 ropes (10-12 inches), join 2 ropes at the top and twist the ends one over the other, join the ends to form a wreath (circle)repeat with the remaining ropes.
- Place the wreaths on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, cover and let rise in a warm draft free area for 2 hours or doubled in bulk.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- First, brush the wreathes with egg wash and then secondly, place the dyed hardboiled egg in the center of the wreath. Do not push the eggs into the dough, the eggs will nestle into the dough when baking. If desired add a touch of sprinkles for extra color. Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes or until golden, or when tapped on the bottom and there is a hollow sound.
- Immediately move the baked buns to a wire rack to cool before serving.
Making this bread? Be sure and share it with us on Instagram!
Happy Easter!
All images by Lorianne DeVita