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 one of my easier Easter Bread Recipes to make to celebrate this beautiful holiday season.
This was originally published as a sponsored post in 2019 but has since been edited and updated.
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!
These bread rings are decorated with icing, sprinkles and, of course, colored pastel eggs.
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.
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Ingredients:
Make sure you print out the recipe below and save it for later!
For the Bread:
- Ffrozen bread dough, defrosted
- Raw eggs, colored in different colors
- 1 egg yolk
- Water
For the Glaze:
- Powdered sugar
- Whole milk
- Almond extract
- Multicolored nonpareils
How to Dye Easter Eggs
- 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:
- 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.
How to Form the Bread Braid
- 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 tablespoon 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.
Easter Bread Glaze
- While the bread rings cool, prepare the glaze by combining the powdered sugar, milk and almond extract together in a small bowl.
- Allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes so it can thicken slightly.
- Once the bread rings have cooled completely, spread the glaze around the tops of each rings and sprinkle with the multicolored nonpareils sprinkles.
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.
Tried any of my recipes? Let me know in the comments!
Individual Italian Easter Bread Rings
Individual Italian Easter Bread Rings using frozen bread dough are easy to make and decorated with icing, sprinkles and, of course, colored pastel eggs.
Ingredients
For the Bread:
- 2 loaves of frozen bread dough, defrosted
- 3 raw eggs, colored in different colors
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
For the Glaze:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ cup multicolored nonpareils
Instructions
How to Form the Bread Rings
- Divide each loaf of bread dough into three equal parts until you have six pieces total.
- Roll each piece of dough into a 12-inch rope.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Remove the "temporary egg" and carefully place a dyed RAW egg in the center of each dough ring.
- Whisk together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon 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 Bread Rings
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk and almond extract.
- Let sit for about 5 minutes until the mixture thickens slightly.
- Once the bread rings have cooled completely, spread the glaze around the tops of each ring.
- 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.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
3Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 202Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 248mgSodium: 78mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 0gSugar: 28gProtein: 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.
cynthia romanoff says
My mother and I have made this for 60 years or more but we use anise. Gives it a nice flavor!
Lois says
I might try the anise this year! We've always used almond extract flavoring for this bread. Thanks for visiting!
Marisa F. Stewart says
The individual braids are adorable. I make the Italian Easter Egg Braid every year. It's such a nice tradition but wow using frozen bread dough when you don't have time is a great time saver. I'll have to pin the recipe just in case I run out of time.
Lois says
Yes, the bread definitely doesn't taste like the sweet traditional Easter Egg Bread, but the glaze more than makes up for it. Thank you for visiting.
Veena Azmanov says
These are cute and well planned for Easter. Love the info and decoration on to these given the festive feel. I am loving it.
Lois says
Thank you! My first baking these breads without homemade dough and they came out really yummy!
Jolina says
How fun are these? I like baking bread but I've never made bread that's this much fun 🙂 These are perfect for Easter. And that's a clever tip about the temporary eggs!
Lois says
Thanks Jolina.
Arlene Mobley says
How cute! Frozen bread dough makes it so easy to make recipes like this.
Lois says
Frozen bread is amazing! Thanks for visiting.
Denise says
These are so pretty and festive! I love that you are using frozen bread dough. It makes life so much easier!
Lois says
Yes, helped me this year when I thought was going to be able to get everything done. Thanks for visiting!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy says
These are super cute. My grandkids would LOVE these on Easter morning. I love making homemade bread, but using frozen dough is a quick way to do things too.