Easter Bread
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Braided Easter bread is a soft, sweet loaf that looks beautiful on the table and tastes just as good as it looks. This version uses nine basic ingredients, two of which are completely optional, making it a simple and flexible recipe that’s easy to make at home.
This sweet bread is one we often make for Easter, and hot cross buns are another classic we enjoy baking during the season.
It’s delicious served on its own, lightly glazed, or with butter and jam.
How to make Easter bread from scratch
Gather the ingredients:
- Flour – You will need all-purpose flour (US)/plain flour (UK). Don’t substitute with self-rising flour!
- Sugar – White, granulated, but preferably with fine sugar crystals. It is also called superfine/caster sugar (UK).
- Salt – An important ingredient that you don’t want to omit!
- Milk – I use whatever I have on hand – either full-fat or low-fat milk.
- Egg – Large is the best size here!
- Unsalted butter – Do not use butter substitutes. This Easter bread recipe calls for the real deal.
- Lemon zest – It does add only a little flavor, so you can omit it if you don’t have a lemon on hand.
- Yeast – Another must for this Easter recipe to work. If you are looking for a sweet bread recipe without yeast, try some of the quick breads like lemon lavender loaf!
- Colorful sprinkles – These are completely optional.
Prepare kitchen utensils:
- Stand mixer with hook attachment.
- Spatula – I use it to mix the ingredients as well as help the dough come off the sides of the mixing bowl, if needed.
- Measuring cups and spoons – Or a scale. In baking, it is always recommended to use one to get the best and most consistent results. If using measuring cups.
- Baking sheet/tray & baking parchment paper – If you have a silicone mat, use it!
- Saucepan – To heat up the milk on the stove or a mug to heat up the milk in the microwave.
- Pastry brush and a little bowl – For the egg wash.
The process can be divided into five main steps:
- Mixing – The shortest step, but important!
- Proofing – The longest step and can take up to two hours in a very cold environment.
- Braiding – An easy step that can be done a few different ways.
- Proofing – Second proofing is important as well.
- Baking – The best temperature to bake Easter bread is 350 Fahrenheit (180 Celsius). Avoid using the top rack.
Possible substitutions
- Sprinkles – Slivered almonds, white sesame seeds, poppy seeds, pearl sugar.
- Instant yeast – Active dry yeast (the same quantity but needs to be activated in lukewarm milk) or fresh yeast (three times more in weight measurement and also needs to be activated).
- Milk – A half and half/single cream can also be used or a combination of milk and cream. Water is also an option, but it will not be as rich.
Frequently asked questions
Absolutely! You can simply skip the part where both ends of the braided bread are pinched together and leave it as it is. It will look like Challah, another tasty bread. Or, roll the dough into 6 ropes/strands and make 3 smaller breads with 2 strands each.
Yes, you can. Bake, cool it down completely, and slice. Place the slices onto a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flash-freeze for 30 to 60 minutes. Then, transfer into a resealable freezer bag. This way, the thawing is faster!
This is to prevent the sprinkles from melting/turning brown during the baking process, as not all the nonpareils are bake-resistant.
If you know your brand does not melt or discolor when in the oven, you can use the egg wash and sprinkles before baking the bread.
There are two main reasons behind this: First, the room is too cold, so proofing takes longer. Second, the ingredients used were cold, which slowed down the rising process.
My favorite trick is to place it in a small bowl, pour hot water over it, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. The water will heat up the egg, and you can use it in baking shortly after.
Julia’s tips
- As with most yeast breads, it takes a while to proof the dough, as many recipes require two proofings. Don’t get discouraged by it! While it can take hours from beginning to the final “product”, there is a lot of passive time where you don’t need to do anything, just wait.
- Sometimes, the dough can be rather dry. This can happen. Some flours contain more moisture than others. To avoid it, don’t overfill your measuring cups with flour and add more liquid if the dough is not coming together.
- Egg wash is also optional. If you don’t use sprinkles, you don’t need to use egg wash.
Easter menu ideas
Deviled Eggs are a classic Easter appetizer, but have you tried making deviled eggs with olives? If not, we highly recommend so.
For the main, we like slow-roasted leg of lamb that you can serve with roasted or mashed potatoes.
To round up the meal, why not try a chocolate Easter cake? It’s rich and tasty with delicious frosting.
Or, what about Easter bunny cupcakes? I used fondant to make the cute bunnies and picture step-by-step instructions are included.
Easter Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled, (plain, 350 grams), see note 1
- ¼ cup granulated sugar caster, 50 grams
- 1¼ teaspoons instant yeast 3.5 grams, see note 2
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup milk lukewarm
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest from 1 lemon (optional)
- ½ stick unsalted butter cubed (50 grams)
- 1 teaspoon sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- To a bowl of a stand mixer, add flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Stir with a spatula until well combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg. Save about two teaspoons for later. Add the rest to the stand mixer bowl and stir with the spatula.
- With the dough attachment, mix on low-medium. When the dough starts coming together (looks like one piece with some dry flour pieces at the bottom), add lemon zest and 1 or 2 butter cubes. Note: If too crumbly and dry at this stage, add a splash of water or milk.
- Mix in the mixer for 15 minutes, adding 1-2 butter cubes at a time, every 2 minutes or so. I recommend turning off the mixer halfway through and pushing down the dough, or scraping it from the sides of the bowl – this helps for an even mixing. Then continue mixing and adding butter.
- When done, cover with clean kitchen towel and let it rise. It can take 60 to 90 minutes, even 2 hours, depending on how warm your room is.
- When the dough doubled in size, punch it down. Transfer it onto a clean worktop and knead a few times. Divide into 3 equal-sized pieces.
- Roll each piece into a 16-inch (40-centimeter) long ropes. Place them side by side and pinch the ends together on one of the sides. Then, braid by placing the outer ropes over the middle one, alternating.
- When ready, you can just bring the ends together to form a wreath/round shape and pinch them together.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350 Fahrenheit (180 Celsius) for 25 minutes. Then, take out and use the saved egg wash to brush it over the bread and quickly add sprinkles. Put the bread back in the oven and bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes before taking it out.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- The weight measurements are the best choice in baking to achieve the most consistent results. If using cups, don’t overfill the cups! Every flour contains a different moisture level, so you might need to adjust the liquid accordingly. I suggest having an extra ¼ cup of milk on hand if the dough is too dry.
- Instant yeast can be substituted with active dry yeast in the same quantity. But you need to activate it in lukewarm milk.
- Instead of sprinkles, you can use slivered almonds, poppy seeds or sesame seeds.