Well, I was only one day off. The bread was baked Monday, we ate some for breakfast Tuesday with jam, and last night we had a great Spring dinner - asparagus on the grill, egg salad with spring onions, and this bread. This sweet, slightly anise scented bread is a modified Panettone from a recipe I saw in the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2001, reprinted from the Wheat Foods Council. I have made it ever since. And the recipe has not failed me yet!
4 1/2- 5 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 pkg active dry yeast
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1 Tbsp anise seeds
1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water (for a shiny loaf)
Mix 1 1/2 cups flour with the sugar, salt, and yeast. Heat milk, water, and butter in a saucepan until warm, add to dry mixture and beat for about 2 minutes. (I use a fork.)
Add the eggs and another 1/2 cup of flour and beat until a thick batter forms. (About another 2 minutes with a fork. Of course, if you have a mixer, this might save your arm muscles.) Stir in the seeds. (The original recipe calls for rainsins, pine nuts and citron as well.)
Turn it out onto a floured surface, add more flour to make a nice soft dough and knead for about 10 minutes.
Then you let this rise until doubled. I had to let it rise for several hours, but the recipe says an hour. For some reason, I can never get my doughs to raise - is it too drafty in my house or too dry possibly?
Punch down the dough, roll into 3 logs about 12 inches long and braid. Place on a greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise until doubled. (Supposedly 30 minutes to an hour, but I need at least an hour or 2.)
Brush with the egg wash and bake at 350 for about 35 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
I think this bread would work with Easter Eggs placed on top: dye some fresh eggs, place them carefully (yes, still in the shells) in the dough before baking and bake as usual. I used all my eggs to make the bread, so I didn't try it.
6 comments:
Yummy--looks good! Any left?
See you soon, momsie
Looks good! TT/BLTSr, whatever I'm supposed to call him, thinks we should make our own bread now!
Have you thought of making bread pudding with the leftovers? My friend makes Challah every Friday and then does that for the next morning. Yum!
You are an inspiration for me - I have already noted down the reciype and I am looking forward to next Easter to try it. But about the eggs on top. As far as I know you are supposed to use empty egg-shells while baking it and replace the dummy-eggs by the real ones as soon as the bread has cooled off. I believe otherways the eyes may burst or loose some of their tastiness.
yours Julia
Looks amazing! What is the texture like? I'm interested in giving it a try, but would like to know what to expect.
Thanks!
hmm... i don't think anise is not one of my favorite flavors, but i am always trying to "re-learn" my palate and fresh bread does sound good ... plus i saw a recipe recently for orangey-baked french toast, which is always a good way to use leftover bread. we had a red-hot-cinnamon-apple-bread pudding/custard/thingy the other night for dessert - used up stale sourdough and an old apple. ;-p
probably not a very green idea, but you could heat the oven briefly (to like 185 or something ridiculously low) and then let the dough rise inside??
The bread looks good! I might have to try that...
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