Have you seen the gorgeous braided easter bread and wanted to try making it, but thought it looked too complicated or takes too much time to make? Today I’m going to share with you how easy an Easter bread braid is to make so that you can wow everyone at the Easter table! Recipe and photo courtesy of Laura Russell from Make Life Lovely.
Mix the sugar, yeast, salt and 2 cups of flour in a large bowl. I used my metal Kitchen Aid bowl and my machine in the next few steps to save time and effort.
Heat milk and butter to 125°F in a small saucepan, then add to dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add 3 eggs, then beat on high for 2 minutes. Add flour until a soft dough is formed. The dough will be sticky.
For this next step you have two choices. You can knead the bread by hand until it’s smooth and elastic for about 8 minutes, or you can leave it in your stand mixer and let the dough hook knead the dough for about 5 minutes. I’m sure you can guess which option I went with.
Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled for 45 minutes. If you want to use colored eggs in your bread, now is the time to color them, while the dough is rising.
Punch down the dough that has risen and split into three pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a rope that is 24 inches long, then make a long braid with the pieces. Place the bread braid on a greased baking sheet and pinch the ends together to make a ring. I stretched my ring out a little from the middle so that there would be a bigger hole in the middle once it was cooked.
Coat the hard-boiled eggs with a little oil, then tuck inside the dough ropes. Cover the whole thing with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Whisk together the last egg and 2 tablespoons of water. Brush the egg wash over the dough, avoiding the eggs. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the bread is a nice golden brown.
