Super simple to make and bake, and such fun to decorate, you can get your kids to help.
The Easter Egg Bread combines two traditional baking techniques, from the Harvest Wheat Sheaf and the Korovai Wedding Bread.
The main part of the loaf is an absolutely plain white yeasted dough, no sweetener and no chocolate involved, so ideal for those who find the sugary side of Easter a bit too much.
The decorations are made using a ‘dead’ white dough. It’s called dead because it’s made without yeast, which prevents the shapes puffing up and deforming in the oven
Ingredients main dough:
- 1000g strong white bread flour
- 10g instant yeast
- 20g salt
- 650g warm water
Ingredients decorating dough:
- 200g strong white bread flour
- 30g double cream (or plant cream)
- 70g water
- pinch salt
- 1 egg, separated into yolk and white
Method:
- Mix the main dough together and knead for five minutes until smooth.
- Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for one hour
- Meanwhile, make the decorating dough by combing all the ingredients in a small bowl. It will be very stiff, so knead it well, then cover and leave to hydrate.
- Make your design. Draw a large egg shape on a piece of baking paper, to fit your largest oven tray.
- Line your tray with baking paper.
- Use a pencil to draw your desired design on the paper egg shape. This will help you later.
- Once the main dough has risen, take about 3/4 of it, and pat it out to an egg shape, using your template as a guide.
- Lift main dough onto your lined baking tray.
- With the remaining 1/4 of the main dough, make thin and thick plaits for decorations.
- Brush the dough egg with egg yolk thinned with a little water.
- Position the plaits on the dough egg and brush them with egg wash too.
- Heat oven to 210 C.
- While oven is heating, roll the decorating dough out and use your cookie cutters/ icing moulds to shape flowers, hearts etc. Set to one side – you’re not using these yet.
- Once oven is hot, give the main dough another coat of egg wash then slide the tray into the oven. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Take the loaf out of the oven and then use the egg white to attach the decorations. Just brush the hot loaf with the egg white and put them in position.
- Return the loaf to the oven for another 10 minutes (total 25 minutes).
- Don’t forget to turn the loaf around a couple of times while baking, to ensure even colouring all over.
- Cool on a rack and enjoy!
Tip: to draw such a large egg shape, I started by drawing around a medium mixing bowl, then extending the sides upwards to an oval. Fold the paper in half lengthwise when you are cutting it out, so that both sides are exactly symmetrical.