Pane di pasqua is an Italian Easter bread.

Sweet, soft enriched dough decorated with colourful sugar pieces. Flavoured with orange and star anise, they will make your house smell festive all day. The buns are great, but what really makes these special is the obvious whole egg nestled in the middle. It is a raw egg that gets fully cooked in the oven along with the buns. I have seen versions which are made using died eggs, but for me the plain one is good enough. This recipe makes 4 rather large buns. To make more multiply the amount of ingredients.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

250g (8.8oz) strong white bread flour

3g (0.1oz) dry yeast or 3x the amount of fresh yeast

5g (0.17oz) salt

20g (0.7oz) sugar

20g (0.7oz) soft butter

1 orange worth of zest

2g (0.07oz) ground star anise

1 whole egg, approximately 50g (1.75oz), cold from the fridge

100g (3.5oz) milk, cold from the fridge, around 6C (42F)

Your egg and milk should come to a combined weight of 150g (5.3oz). First weigh the egg and then add enough milk to make up the difference.

To learn more about dough temperature control click here.

1 egg for brushing

100’s & 1000’s for sprinkling

4 raw eggs in the shell at room temperature to nestle in the buns. Wash them before use!

Method

1. In a bowl combine the egg, milk, yeast, salt, sugar, butter, orange zest & star anise. Mix well.
2. Add the flour and mix to a dough.
3. Knead for 5 minutes. Desired dough temperature 25 – 26C (77-79F). If your dough is warmer, then it will ferment more rapidly. If it is cooler, then it will take longer. Adjust proofing time accordingly.
4. Cover and ferment for 45 minutes.
5. Fold.
6. Ferment for 45 more minutes.
7. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Preshape into cylinders.
8. Rest for 15 minutes.
9. Roll out two dough pieces at a time. Twist them around each other to form the bun.
10. Place on a parchment paper lined tray. At this point preheat your oven to 160C (320F) fan on.
11. Cover the buns and ferment for 45 minutes.
12. Brush with the egg, sprinkle with the 100’s & 1000’s all over. Neste an egg in each bun.
13. Bake for 25 minutes.
14. Brush with oil once they come out the oven.

Hot cross buns are an Easter classic.

There are many versions out there. Normally the cross is made out of a flour paste. I decided to make the crosses out of actual bread dough, which kind of makes it simpler because you will not have to make a separate paste to pipe on top of the buns. They are super soft, well spiced, and deliciously sticky. This recipe makes 12 decently sized buns.

This dough can also be used to make Chelsea buns or tea cakes. Or you could make a large loaf out of it. That is the beauty of bread making. Once you know how the dough works, you can customize it to your liking.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

For the dough –

500g (1.1lb) strong white bread flour

7g (0.25oz) dry yeast or 3x the amount of fresh yeast

10g (0.35oz) salt

100g (3.5oz) soft butter

75g (2.6oz) sugar

15g (0.5oz) mixed spice

140g (5oz) currants

40g (1.4oz) mixed peel

270g (9.5oz) cold milk, around 5C (40F)

To learn more about dough temperature control click here.

For the syrup –

50g (1.75oz) sugar

25g (0.9oz) water

Method

1. In a bowl combine the milk, yeast, salt & sugar. Mix well. Add the flour and mix to a dough.
2. Knead for 3 minutes. Cut off a 70g (2.5oz) piece and leave it on the side. This will be used for the crossing. Spread the larger piece of dough out, add the butter and the mixed spice. Tear the ingredients into the dough. Keep kneading for another 5 minutes. *Desired dough temperature 26C (79F). If your dough is warmer, then it will ferment more rapidly. If it is cooler, then it will take longer. Adjust proofing time accordingly.
3. Cover both dough balls and let them rest for 20 minutes.
   4. Stretch the larger piece of dough out and spread over the currants and mixed peel in an even layer. Fold the dough up. Knead it a couple of times until the currants just start popping through the surface. Shape the dough into a ball.
4. Place back into the bowl and ferment for 1 hour.

6. Fold both the large and the small dough balls.
7. Ferment for 1 more hour.
8. Divide the large dough into 12 equal pieces and divide the small piece of dough into 7 equal pieces. Preshape all into balls.
9. Let them rest for 30 minutes.
10. Final shaping. Shape the 12 buns and place them on a parchment paper lined tray with gaps in between. Roll out the smaller dough pieces to around 30cm (1ft) long and lay them across the buns. Cut off the excess and tuck the ends underneath.
11. Cover and ferment for 2 – 2.5 hours or until visibly puffed up. During the final hour of fermentation preheat your oven to 160C (320F) fan on.
12. Bake the buns for 30 – 35 minutes or until the inner temperature reads above 94C (200F).
13. Make the sugar syrup as soon as the buns come out the oven. Brush them all over. Use all the syrup.

Challah is a traditional Jewish bread. Enriched with eggs and slightly sweetened.

I have a recipe for a regular challah. But I decided to try and make a chocolate one. And it came out great! Replacing some of the flour with cocoa powder not only makes the dough chocolatey, but it also makes it a lot softer because cocoa powder does not contribute to the gluten development making this dough a lot looser. This bread is like a cake. So light and airy. With chocolate chips going through the dough.

Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.

Ingredients

450g (1lb) strong white bread flour

50g (1.75oz) cocoa powder

40g (1.4oz) vegetable oil

10g (0.35oz) salt

7g (0.25oz) dry yeast or 3x the amount of fresh yeast

40g (1.4oz) sugar

3 whole medium sized eggs *cold from the fridge

125g (4.4oz) cold water

To learn more about dough temperature control click here.

100g (3.5oz) chocolate chips

1 whole egg for brushing

Sesame seeds to sprinkle

Method

1. In a bowl whisk the eggs. Add the water, yeast, salt, sugar, vegetable oil & cocoa powder. Mix well.
2. Add the flour and mix to a dough.
3. Knead the dough for 8 minutes. Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.
4. Fold in the chocolate chips and knead for another 2 minutes. Desired dough temperature 25C (77F). If your dough is warmer, then it will ferment more rapidly. If it is cooler, then it will take longer. Adjust proofing time accordingly.
5. Cover & ferment for 1 hour.
6. Fold.
7. Ferment for 1 more hour.

8. Divide the dough in 3 equal pieces. Preshape them in cylinders.
9. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
10. Roll out the three dough pieces to a length equal to that between the tips of your fingers and your elbow. Taper the ends. Press the three points together and braid the dough. Tuck the ends underneath the loaf. Place the loaf on a parchment paper lined tray. At this point start preheating your oven to 160C (320F) fan on.
11. Final proof 1 – 1.5 hours or until doubled in size.
12. Brush the loaf with egg. Let it dry for 5 minutes, then brush again. Sprinkle generously with sesame seeds.
13. Bake the loaf for 45 – 50 minutes or until the internal temperature reads above 94C (200F).
14. Bake it with oil as soon as it comes out of the oven.