Individual Italian Easter Bread Rings

A family tradition in any Italian household is Easter Bread. This year I’m doing something different and baking Individual Italian Easter Bread Rings using frozen bread dough that are easy to make and decorated with icing, sprinkles and, of course, colored pastel eggs. 

Welcome back to day three of our Easter Brunch Celebration. Today’s recipe of Individual Italian Easter Bread Rings is sponsored by Rhodes Bake-N-Serv® and Eggland’s Best Eggs.   As always, all opinions are my own. For more information, click here.

Make sure you check out all the other recipes I’m sharing this week for our Easter Brunch Celebration. A list of recipes are listed at the bottom of this post to help make things easier for you. Some of these recipes are ones I’ve been making for my family for years! 

Individual Italian Easter Bread Rings

Traditional recipes for Italian Easter Bread use a yeast dough that’s very similar to a brioche bread dough with a little sweetness in the dough as well. Some recipes also have a sweet icing or glaze with sprinkles on top of the loaves and some don’t, like the recipe I usually make for my family. 

I started thinking last year after I didn’t have the time to bake my homemade Easter bread, how would this recipe work using frozen bread dough? Well, let me tell you, it worked beautifully! 

Frozen Bread Dough

The bread dough, of course, wasn’t sweet like the homemade version but I compensated for that by making a sweet icing with a touch of almond extract. This recipe came out perfect and I know you’re going to love it…especially if you haven’t mastered making bread with yeast. 

I also love the how cute the individual Italian Easter bread rings look too! Everyone gets their own little bread ring. 

How to Make Individual Italian Easter Bread Rings

Make sure you print out the recipe below and save it for later!

For the Bread:

• 2 loaves of frozen bread dough, defrosted
• 3 raw eggs, colored in different colors
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp water

For the Glaze:

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp whole milk
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup multicolored nonpareils

Directions:

1. Divide each loaf of bread dough into three equal parts until you have six pieces total.
2. Roll each piece of dough into a 12-inch rope.
3. Place two ropes side by side and braid them together.
4. Form the braided ropes into a circle pinching the ends together and tucking them underneath.
5. Place on a baking sheet that’s been lined with parchment paper.
6. Repeat with the other two sets of ropes so you have a total of three bread rings.
7. Take 3 additional eggs and place in the center of each bread ring while they rise. We’re creating a “temporary egg” while the dough rises that will help make sure the bread dough doesn’t completely rise up around the colored egg.
8. Cover the dough rings and allow them to rise until almost doubled in size; about 30 to 45 minutes depending on how warm your kitchen is.
9. Preheat oven to 350.
10. Remove the “temporary egg” and carefully place a dyed RAW egg in the center of each dough ring.
11. Whisk together the egg yolk and 1 tbsp water and carefully brush the tops and sides of the bread trying your best to avoid getting any on the dyed egg.
12. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on the outside.
13. Remove from baking sheet and place on a baking rack to cool completely before decorating.

How to Decorate the Bread Rings:

1. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk and almond extract.
2. Let sit for about 5 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly.
3. Once the bread rings have cooled completely, spread the glaze around the tops of each ring.
4. Sprinkle with the multicolored nonpareils.

Let’s Get Baking! 

Chose your favorite colors for the eggs. Make sure you dye RAW eggs. Don’t worry, the eggs will cook in the oven with the bread dough. If you were to use already hard-boiled eggs, they would explode in the oven while the bread bakes. 

I chose blue, red and yellow for today’s recipe. 

How to Defrost the Frozen Bread: 

1. The night before, remove the 2 loaves of bread from the freezer and place in a covered plastic container that has a little flour sprinkled on the bottom. We don’t want the dough to stick while it’s defrosting. 
2. Place the container in the refrigerator overnight so it defrosts completely. 

Place two ropes side by side and braid them together. Form the braided ropes into a circle pinching the ends together and tucking them underneath. Place on a baking sheet that’s been lined with parchment paper.

Repeat with the other two sets of ropes so you have a total of three bread rings.

How to Rise the Bread Rings

Now, this is my personal tip for making this recipe. In the years past when I would make the homemade yeast bread recipe, I always hated how the bread dough will rise up around the eggs. Especially when the bread would bake, the bread dough would rise up even more sometimes to the point where you couldn’t see the pretty colored egg. 

A few years ago I started using “temporary eggs” to place in the bread rings while the dough rises. 

Right before baking, place the colored eggs in the bread rings.

How to Bake the Bread Rings

Whisk together the egg yolk and 1 tbsp water and carefully brush the tops and sides of the bread trying your best to avoid getting any on the dyed egg. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on the outside.

Remove from baking sheet and place on a baking rack to cool completely before decorating.

How to Decorate the Individual Italian Easter Bread Rings

Once the bread rings have cooled completely, spread the glaze around the tops of each rings and sprinkle with the multicolored nonpareils.

Here’s a closeup of one bread ring. Do you see how the egg is laying nicely on top? That’s because of my little trick that I use. 

Make sure you check out the other recipes I’m sharing for Easter Brunch Week: 

Day One – Homemade Fluffy Waffles with Pecan Praline SauceMore InformationDay Two  – Shortcut Italian Easter Bread RingsMore InformationDay Three – Pretty in Pink Fruit PizzaMore InformationDay Four – Strawberry Lemonade Punch RecipeMore InformationDay Five – Cheesecake Stuffed StrawberriesMore InformationDay Six – Chocolate Chip Streusel Coffee Cake with WalnutsMore InformationDay Seven – Aunt Betty’s Pound Cake RecipeMore Information

Individual Italian Easter Bread Rings

Yield: 3 Easter Bread Rings

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Individual Italian Easter Bread Rings using frozen bread dough are easy to make and decorated with icing, sprinkles and, of course, colored pastel eggs.

Print

Ingredients

For the Bread:

• 2 loaves of frozen bread dough, defrosted
• 3 raw eggs, colored in different colors
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp water

For the Glaze:

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp whole milk
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup multicolored nonpareils

Instructions

How to Form the Bread Rings

1. Divide each loaf of bread dough into three equal parts until you have six pieces total.
2. Roll each piece of dough into a 12-inch rope.
3. Place two ropes side by side and braid them together.
4. Form the braided ropes into a circle pinching the ends together and tucking them underneath.
5. Place on a baking sheet that's been lined with parchment paper.
6. Repeat with the other two sets of ropes so you have a total of three bread rings.
7. Take 3 additional eggs and place in the center of each bread ring while they rise. We're creating a "temporary egg" while the dough rises that will help make sure the bread dough doesn't completely rise up around the colored egg.
8. Cover the dough rings and allow them to rise until almost doubled in size; about 30 to 45 minutes depending on how warm your kitchen is.

How to Bake the Bread Rings

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Remove the "temporary egg" and carefully place a dyed RAW egg in the center of each dough ring.
3. Whisk together the egg yolk and 1 tbsp water and carefully brush the tops and sides of the bread trying your best to avoid getting any on the dyed egg.
4. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on the outside.
5. Remove from baking sheet and place on a baking rack to cool completely before decorating.

How to Decorate the Bread Rings

1. In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk and almond extract.
2. Let sit for about 5 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly.
3. Once the bread rings have cooled completely, spread the glaze around the tops of each ring.
4. Sprinkle with the multicolored nonpareils.

Notes

How to Defrost the Frozen Bread: 

The night before, remove the 2 loaves of bread from the freezer and place in a covered plastic container that has a little flour sprinkled on the bottom. We don't want the dough to stick while it's defrosting. 

Place the container in the refrigerator overnight so it defrosts completely. 

Recommended Products

• 
  Paas Easter Egg Color Cups
• 
  100% Stainless Steel Wire Cooling Rack for Baking
• 
  Wilton Rainbow Nonpareils Food Decorative

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 3 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 202 Total Fat: 7g Saturated Fat: 2g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 4g Cholesterol: 248mg Sodium: 78mg Carbohydrates: 28g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 28g Protein: 7g

The nutrition information is calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you, please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator.