Pane di Pasqua (Italian Easter Bread)

This fluffy and eggy Italian Easter Bread, Pane di Pasqua, is slightly sweet and bursting the with flavors of citrus and anise. 

Pane di Pasqua: A Symbolic Italian Easter Bread

It is no surprise that bread has incredible significance around many cultures' Easter tables.

Just as bread for centuries has been the prime source of bodily sustenance for daily life, Christ, whose resurrection Christians celebrate on Easter, is considered "the bread of life," (John 6:35), in whom believers will find their daily, spiritual sustenance.

This Italian Easter bread is braided with eggs, which also hold incredible Easter significance as signs from nature of new life, just as we are celebrating new life in the risen Christ.

Due to the ending of the fast of Lent, where households would traditionally refrain from rich and sweet dishes, Easter breads are often rich, eggy breads that can range in sweetness, and sometimes are studded with dried fruit, which at one time was a luxury item. (Like this Romanian Easter Bread or Hot Cross Buns).

These are truly celebration breads that each household adapts to their own definition and means of celebrating.

Flavoring Pane di Pasqua

Pane di Pasqua is this oh so fluffy and ever so slightly sweet. This is the perfect background for the light and bright, springy flavors of citrus and anise.

Orange juice and anise are the main flavoring agents in this fluffy bread, and they mingle together quite well, with neither over powering the other as you enjoy each bite.

In order to really brighten the flavor of the bread, we use the zest and juice from the orange.

And, while ½ teaspoon of anise may seem like a lot, particularly if you're not an anise lover, the flavor really mellows as the bread cooks, leaving just a hint of spice in the finished loaf.

What can I substitute for anise?

We have gotten a lot of questions from people who want to make this Easter bread, but aren't a fan of the flavor of anise.

If you're looking for a substitute for anise in this bread, let us first say that the anise flavor in the finished bread is quite subtle. It is more of a light spice flavor than a quintessential anise/licorice flavor. So if you're on the fence, go ahead and give it a try.

That being said, if anise really isn't your thing (or you don't have it on hand), you can definitely leave it out of the bread and it will be just fine.

Other substitutions could be adding some cinnamon or nutmeg in the amount of ground anise we call for in the recipe (½ tsp). Still another option would be to replace the anise with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Whatever you decide to substitute the anise for, remember that it needs to pair nicely with orange, which is the other prominent flavor in the bread. 

How To Make Braided Italian Easter Bread

While this loaf is quite impressive (as is fitting an Easter celebration table) and does contain a number of steps, it it definitely a bread that is worth your time to make.

• Make your dough: The dough for Pane di Pasqua should be soft and slightly tacky, but not sticky. It takes a little kneading by hand to reach a smooth consistency, but you can always use your stand mixer, if you desire.
• Shape your dough: After the first rise, the dough is divided into three sections. Each section is rolled into a rope and the three are braided into a nice long braid that is pinched together into a circle on your baking sheet.
• Add the eggs: Colorful dyed eggs are then tucked into the braid. As the dough rises they settle into place.
• Bake your bread: After the final rise, it's time to bake the bread! Like magic, the bread puffs up around the eggs and turns a beautiful golden brown.
• Let it cool: While it may be tempting to dive right into the fresh from the oven bread, the hot bread is fragile and it's best to let it cool for at least 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet before trying to move it.

 

Baking Eggs In The Oven

What makes this bread even more unique is that raw, dyed eggs are braided right into the dough before it is baked.

Don't worry about those raw eggs though, because the eggs cook as the bread bakes.

So not only do you have an Easter bread, you end up with dyed, hard-cooked eggs too!

Just be very careful as you're dying your raw eggs. You don't want to break them before they get cooked!

Maybe that's not the best task for the little kiddos.

We'll save the hard boiled eggs for them and let you have fun dying the raw ones!

Our Easy Italian Easter Bread Recipe

The dough for this Italian Easter bread is a very rich dough, containing milk, eggs, and butter.

This makes it very moist and slightly sticky as it comes together. But, after a bit of kneading, it becomes silky smooth and very easy to work with.

After one rise, this fragrant dough gets divided into three pieces and rolled into ropes that will be braided. If you find that the dough springs back on itself as you try to roll it into your 24 inch strand, stop rolling and let the strand rest for 5 minutes (covered with your damp tea towel). This will relax the gluten proteins and make it much easier to continue rolling your strand.

After you shape your bread into a circle and pinch your ends together, it's time to tuck the eggs into the braided dough.

This part can get a little tricky. Just gently separate the strands of the braid and tuck the egg in.

The most important thing here is to keep the eggs on top of the braid, or even a little towards the center of the circle. If you place them too close to the outer edge of the circle, they tend to roll further outwards as the bread rises.

No matter how the dough chooses to rise around your eggs, the result will be a very impressive loaf.

The beautifully colored eggs and the lovely golden loaf are the perfect recipe  for an Easter table centerpiece.

Can I Substitute Fresh Yeast for Active Dry Yeast? 

Recently we have been getting a lot of questions about substitutions for the active dry yeast in this bread. While we haven't tried using fresh yeast in place of the active dry yeast, it should work. 

For this recipe you will need ⅔oz (19g) of fresh yeast in place of the 2 ¼ teaspoon of active dry yeast.

Fresh yeast will not need as long in the hydrating step #1 of the recipe instructions. It also may cause your bread to rise more quickly, so be sure to check it often during proofing.

Can I Substitute Instant Yeast For Active Dry Yeast? 

Yes, you should be able to substitute instant yeast for the active dry yeast in this recipe as well. Use the same amount of instant yeast as we call for in active dry yeast. 

If using instant yeast, you can skip the hydrating step (step #1) and simply add the yeast to the dry ingredients in step #2. (Don't forget to add the sugar and the milk to the wet ingredients in step #3.) Then, continue with the instructions as listed.

Note that the dough might rise faster on you, so keep an eye on it as it proofs. 

Other Easter Breads

If you love the idea of Easter bread, you'll want to give Hot Cross Buns and Romanian Easter Bread a try too!

---

This is one of the recipes from the early days of Curious Cuisiniere. We've updated our pictures since we first shared it, but we've left some originals here, in case you've found us in the past and are looking for that old, familiar image.