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Someone posted this joke the other day. "Why is everyone so tired on April 1?" "Because they just finished a 31-day March!"
Of course I giggled; it's a cute joke, after all. Then my brain had to kick in and think. Wow, it really has been a long march to spring this year. How about you?
I know many of our baking friends suffered epic storms, power outages, wind, water, and sky raining down havoc. Here in New England the month of February only had 3 days of full sun. The rest were partially cloudy or overcast. That can really dull your senses and stifle your mind. Not in a good "Stifle, Edith!" way, but the "I don't really feel like moving from this couch" way.
So, how are we to make this bad feeling better? Let's go BAD in a big way.
Bad movie night? I'm in! Bad singing in the car? Crank up the tunes!
My call to you? Fill up the comments section with your best BAD jokes. Bad= clean, silly, eye-rolling, groaningly bad jokes. That's right. Before you get to read the rest of the blog, I really want you to pop down and type up a great bad joke to share with the rest of us. Then come right back and get your reward. A step-by-step recipe for a delightfully fragrant and ambrosial Easter bread, heady with mood-lifting citrus scents.
Ready? GO!
Okay, on you go to your prize!
This lovely bread does require an overnight starter. Grab your mixer bowl and toss in:
1 cup (120g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup (113g) cool water
1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
Cover lightly and leave out on the counter overnight.
The next morning your starter will look bubbly and active, like a pancake just before flipping.
To the starter add:
2 1/4 cups (269g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons SAF Gold instant yeast, for best rise; or regular instant yeast
1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract + 1/4 teaspoon orange oil
1/4 teaspoon ground anise seed, optional
grated peel of 1 large orange
One thing (among many) that I truly love about our unbleached flour is that it has such good, fresh flavor. There's no chemical taste to interfere with the other fragrant and delicious flavors you add to your recipes.
Mix and knead, using a mixer or bread machine, until the dough is elastic and satiny. We don't recommend preparing this dough by hand, as it's quite sticky and challenging to bring together.
See the little pieces of peel in the dough? Close your eyes and inhale and I bet you'll be able to smell them, too.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 1 to 2 hours. Sweet and rich breads definitely take longer to rise, so patience is needed in planning.
Divide the dough into three equal-sized portions and shape each piece into an 18"-long rope.
Pinch the ends together, squeeze to a point, and tuck that point under the braid.
Confession time. Somehow I lost track of my braiding pictures for this bread. Luckily PJ had done a 3-stranded braid in a blog before, so with her permission I've used her photos instead. Thanks lady, you're a lifesaver!
[Ed. note: "Computers are our friend." Sorry your photos were techno-ditched... PJ]
To form the braid, bring one of the outer ropes over the center rope.
Bring the opposite outer rope over the “new” inner rope (which used to be the outer rope). Get it?
Repeat, switching from side to side and always bringing an outside rope over the center rope. If you've ever braided hair, or rope or wire, it's the same motions.
You'll end up with a very long, slim braid.
Curve the straight braid to a ring and pinch the ends to seal.
Cover the wreath and allow it to rise until puffy, about 1 to 2 hours (again, SAF Gold will work faster).
Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375°F.
Bake the wreath for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven heat to 350°F and bake for an additional 20 minutes, tenting it for the final 10 minutes of baking. The finished loaf will be golden brown, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will register at least 190°F.
Remove the wreath from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool.
When the braid is cool or just barely warm, make the glaze and/or decorate the bread.
Stir together 1 cup of confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons milk or orange juice. Add more liquid 1/4 teaspoon at a time, until the glaze is thin and pourable.
Drizzle the glaze onto the cooled braid, then decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Little colored nonpareils make for a very festive look and might remind you of Italian struffoli, that honey-sweet confection that also appears at Eastertime.
Here's to spring colors, warm breezes and, as always, happy baking!
Please bake, rate, and review our recipe for Easter Bread Wreath.
March 29, 2024 at 6:10pm
Can this be made the day be serving? THX
March 30, 2024 at 4:11pm
In reply to Can this be made the day be… by elizabeth Slabe (not verified)
Yes! Be sure to allow the bread to cool completely before storing airtight.
March 30, 2024 at 4:13pm
In reply to Can this be made the day be… by elizabeth Slabe (not verified)
Hi Elizabeth, the Easter Braid Wreath recipe does call for an overnight starter and the rise times can be a bit slow, but if you can work all that into your schedule, you could bake and serve the same day. If you meant to ask if this recipe could be baked a day ahead of serving, the answer is yes! You could also make the dough a day ahead and refrigerate it after a slightly abbreviated first rise (1 hour). Deflate the dough and place it in an oiled bowl with room to rise, and cover the bowl well so the dough doesn't dry out in the fridge. The next day I would divide the dough into 3 loosely shaped ovals and let the dough rest on a floured surface (covered well) for an hour or so before rolling out the strands and making the braid. This will help the dough warm up a bit and rise a little faster when you make the braid.
April 9, 2023 at 5:09pm
I made this recipe and, while it tasted delicious, it did not rise. At all. My yeast was a few months expired, but I thought it should have still been ok, as the starter was bubbly. I thought I kneaded it enough, and I’m pretty sure it had enough liquid. The dough itself didn’t rise, but I went ahead and made the wreath. That also didn’t rise. We had the starter, dough ball and wreath set in front of a heater so it was probably at 60-75 degrees. And we used instant yeast. I’m going to try this again next week with brand new active dry yeast (which I’m more comfortable with). But, would there be any other reason (besides possible expiration of yeast) that my bread didn’t rise?
April 10, 2023 at 5:10pm
In reply to I made this recipe and,… by Katy (not verified)
Hi Katy, it does sound to me like your expired yeast may have contributed to your lack of rise. Even though your starter was bubbly, the yeast may not have been as active as it needed to be, and because this recipe contains a fairly high percentage of sugar in the dough, this makes for a particularly challenging environment for yeast. This is because sugar draws moisture away from the yeast, causing the dough to rise much more slowly. For this type of recipe, our SAF Gold Instant Yeast is an ideal choice. It's specifically geared to work well in this challenging environment and will promote a faster rise. If you'd like to try this recipe with active dry yeast, I would be sure to activate the yeast for the starter in a small portion of lukewarm water, and then use cool water for the remaining 1/2 cup of water (since active dry may not activate well in cool water). For the dough portion of the recipe, I would use a full packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast, dissolved in about 1 tablespoon lukewarm water. This should give the rise a little more of a boost. Be sure to measure your flour carefully, either by weighing, or using this method of measuring flour by cups.
April 8, 2023 at 4:45pm
Do you know what the flour ratio would be if I need to use gluten-free flour? Thank you
April 8, 2023 at 5:04pm
In reply to Do you know what the flour… by Jen (not verified)
Hi Jen, we generally don't recommend substituting gluten-free flour into a regular yeasted recipe. However, if you have our new Gluten-Free Bread Flour, you could make a braided wreath with our Gluten-Free Challah recipe. Note that this new gluten-free flour contains gluten-free wheat starch, and is not suitable for those who are allergic to wheat.
April 6, 2023 at 11:54pm
If I don’t have the Fiori Di Sicilian or orange oil, can I use extra orange zest and fresh orange juice?
Thank you!
April 8, 2023 at 10:56am
In reply to If I don’t have the Fiori Di… by Diana (not verified)
Hi Diana, if you don't have the Fiori, I would substitute 2 teaspoons of vanilla (as the recipe suggests), and then add an additional tablespoon of orange zest in place of the orange oil suggested.
March 31, 2023 at 1:01pm
Hi,
Can I use my sourdough starter in placement of the starter in the recipe? It is 1:5:5 ratio.
Pagination