HolidayPages4U - Buona Pasqua - Easter - Easter Recipes - Italian Easter Bread

This is a variation of Grandma's Meat Pie Recipe filled with Pizzagaina ingredients for Easter. ENJOY!

DOUGH

3 cups Bread Flour + extra (or all-purpose flour)

1 teaspoon salt
1 envelope Fleischmann's Yeast
1 cup very warm water (120 to 130°F)

1 teaspoon sugar
1 Egg

2 tablespoons oil

(or use 1lb pre-made pizza dough)

RICOTTA MIXTURE

2-3 lbs. Ricotta

1/2 cup Grated Cheese

6 eggs

Parsley

Salt & Pepper

FILLING

1/2 lb. prosciutto (sliced thin)

1 lb. Genoa Salami (sliced thick)

1 lb. Basket Cheese

1 lb. Mozzarella

6 Hard Boiled Eggs

2 Sticks Pepperoni (chopped)

Add yeast to 1 cup of warm water. Stir in 1 teaspoon of sugar, and set aside for 5 minutes or until yeast has foamed.

Add Salt to flour, mix. Add egg & yeast, mix for 5 minutes on 2nd setting or until dough does not stick to sides of mixter.

Grease bowl with olive oil. Place dough in bowl. Cover with towel and let rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.

Dust flour on cutting board. Place dough on board and knead dough for a few turns while adding a little flour.

	Chop pepperoni into small cubes. Slice hard boiled eggs, mozzarella & crumble the basket cheese. In a mixer, add eggs, parsley and grated cheese. Mix. Add ricotta cheese. Mix. Salt & pepper to taste.
	Lightly spray pan with oil. Just enough to prevent the dough from sticking while cooking. Stretch out the dough into a long rectangle. Place dough over a pan with the sides overhanging.
	Rotate between a layer of meat & cheese over each other. Place a layer of salami in the center. Add Ricotta mixture over salami and spread it out. Add layer of chopped pepperoni. Top pepperoni with a layer of sliced mozzarella.
	Add a layer of prosciutto, topped with basket cheese. Sliced hard boiled eggs on top of everything.
	Fold over one side of the dough on top of the meat & cheese. Press down slightly if the filling is getting too high. Repeat steps above for adding a layer of meat & cheese on top of the dough you just pulled over. Fold over the other side of dough on top of the 2^nd layer of meat and cheese. Insert toothpicks to hold down the dough. With a fork, press down on the other sides of the dough to create a seal.
	With a fork, or knife prick holes on top to create vents. In a cup, beat one egg with 1 tablespoon cold water. Use this as the egg glaze for brushing over crust just before baking. Bake in oven for 30-40 minutes @ 350 degrees. Check halfway through. If browning too rapidly, place aluminum foil over top.
	Let cool on pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Serve cold or at room temperature. Cut in half long ways, and then cut across for smaller slices. ENJOY! BUONA PASQUA!

You can follow the directions and make one large loaf or you might want to make single pieces for table settings. That's what Grandma does. Each individual loaf or basket was our tqble setting. Roll out a piece of dough about 12 inches. Create a circle with the dough, overlapping the ends, making a bed for the egg. Place the egg in the center & with extra dough to make a cross (in honor of Easter) on the egg.

1 Envelope of Yeast (2 ½ tsp)

½ cup of Warm Water, about 110 degrees

½ cup of Unsalted Butter, at room temperature

½ cup of Milk

3 Eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup of Sugar

1 tsp of Vanilla Extract

1 Tbsp of Orange Zest

4 ½ to 5 cups of All Purpose Flour

1 tsp of Salt

6 Dyed Hard Boiled Eggs

Multi-Colored Sprinkles

1 Egg, beaten with a little bit of water to make an egg wash

ICING: (optional, but Grandma did it)

1 c Confectioner's sugar

1 tb Milk

1/8 ts Vanilla

colored sprinkles

- Add 1 Tbsp of sugar to the warm water and stir to mix, sprinkle the yeast over the water and set aside for about 10 minutes or until foamy.

- In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter together just until the butter melts, set aside to cool.

- Mix together the eggs and sugar until combined, add the butter and milk mixture, the yeast and water mixture, the vanilla and orange zest, mix everything together so you have all the wet ingredients combined.

- Switch the attachment to a dough hook and slowly add in 4 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt, mix until a soft dough forms. If needed, gradually add a little more flour to make a nice smooth but slightly sticky dough.

- Place onto a lightly floured surface and kneed for a few minues. Shape dough into a ball.

- Grease a large bowl with some oil, place the ball of dough in the bowl and brush a tiny bit of oil over the top. Cover with a towel, place it in a warm spot and let it rise until it has doubled in size (maybe 1 hr). Grandma always said we had to be quiet so the dough would sleep and rise, but I think that was just to keep us quiet.

- Line a couple baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking oil, set aside.

- Once the dough has risen, place onto a lightly floured surface, cut into 4 equal pieces.

- Roll each piece into a rope about 22 inches long. Lay 2 ropes at a time side by side in front of you loosely braid them together.

- Lift the braid onto the baking sheet and pinch the ends to seal so now you have a circle. Place 3 eggs in each circle lengthwise, tucking them between the ropes.

- Cover again with a towel and place them somewhere warm for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

- Brush the tops with the egg wash and cover with some sprinkles, bake them for 30 minutes at 350F or until golden, making sure to rotate the baking sheets half way though for even baking.

- Create a circle with the dough, overlapping the ends, making a bed for the egg. Place the egg in the center & with extra dough to make a cross (in honor of Easter)

- Cover again with a towel and place them somewhere warm for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

- Brush the tops with the egg wash (or use icing) and cover with some sprinkles. Bake them for 30 minutes at 350F or until golden, making sure to rotate the baking sheets half way though for even baking.