This Easter bread – featuring colorful, whole eggs, baked right in – is a super fun way to celebrate Easter with the whole family! The bread itself is a lovely brioche-adjacent formula, made with Organic All-Purpose Flour and enriched with eggs and butter. The addition of decorated eggs adds a fun pop of color and is a great way to get the kids involved in the process.
The decorated easter eggs that adorn this Easter bread can be hard-boiled or raw since the heat from the oven will end up cooking the inside of the eggs to a med/hard yolk. Of course, if young kids are helping, it’s probably safer to start with hard-boiled eggs 🙂 Either way, make sure the egg dye you use is food-grade and is safe to be consumed since some of it will end up on the surface of the bread
Formula
Number of Units: 12 rolls or 2 wreaths / Unit Weight: 100 grams rolls, 600 grams wreath / Total Weight: 1200 grams
| FINAL DOUGH | Baker’s % | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Organic “Beehive” All-Purpose Flour | 100 | 654 g |
| Sugar | 8 | 52 g |
| Salt | 1 | 7 g |
| Yeast, dry instant | 1.5 | 10 g |
| Butter | 13 | 85 g |
| Milk | 45 | 294 g |
| Whole Eggs | 15 | 98 g |
| Decorated Eggs | N/A | N/A |
| Total | 183.5 | 1200 g |
| TECHNICAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Dough Temperature | 75°–78° F | ||
| Mixing Type | Stand Mixer with dough hook | ||
| First Speed* | 3 minutes | ||
| Second Speed* | 8 minutes | ||
| Gluten Structure | Intensive | ||
| First Fermentation | 2 hours @ room temp | ||
| Folds | 1 | ||
| Fold Time | 1 hour | ||
| Dividing | For rolls: 100 g or 12 equal pieces. For braid: 4 x 300 g or 4 equal pieces. | ||
| Pre-Shaping | Cylinders | ||
| Resting Time | 20 minutes | ||
| Shaping | 24″ strands for rolls / 30–36″ strands for wreath | ||
| Final Fermentation | 1 hour @ room temp | ||
| Baking** | 12–16 minutes for rolls / 20–25 minutes for wreath @ 375° | ||
| Egg Wash | Yes | ||
*Mixing time can vary depending on mixer.
**Baking time and temp can vary depending on oven.
Timing
Active Time: 20–30 min / Inactive Time: ~4 hours / Baking Time: 12–25 min
Process
Using a mixer with a dough attachment, combine all the ingredients and mix on slow for about 3 minutes until the flour is hydrated and there is no dry flour left.
Once the dough starts to come together, mix on med speed until the dough forms a windowpane. This can range from 6–10 min.
Cover the dough and let it rest in a warm place for about 2 hours, giving it a stretch and fold after the first hour.
After the first fermentation is complete, divide the dough into 12 pieces for rolls or if you are making a wreath, into 4 pieces and preshape them into a cylinder.
Let all the pieces of dough rest for 20 min before finally shaping it.
After resting, roll the dough into strands around 24” long for rolls or 30–36” for the wreath.
For rolls, take the strand, fold it in half and twist them together. Create a ring, hiding the ends under the dough, and place this on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Place a decorated egg in the center. Repeat this process with the rest of the strands, placing up to 6 rolls on a sheet.
For wreaths, loosely twist two of the strands together and form a ring with the twisted dough. Place the wreath onto a parchment-lined sheet pan. Gently create gaps within the twisted strands by spreading them apart and place the decorated eggs within this gap. Repeat with the remaining strand.
Cover the pan and let it rise for about an hour, or until it is puffy, but not doubled.
Baking:
Preheat your oven to 375˚ F.
Prior to baking, create an egg wash by lightly beating 1 egg.
Lightly brush only the dough with the egg wash and bake 12–16 min for rolls, 20–25 min for wreaths, or until bread is golden brown.
Grab the family and dig in to this wonderfully colorful Easter treat!
FROM THE MILL
