Filomena's Italian Easter Bread

Preparation

1. Step 1

   In a very large bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar until combined. Whisk in lemon zest and juice.

   Step 2

   In a medium size bowl, combine olive oil and milk. Crumble in yeast and whisk until incorporated.

   Step 3

   Pour yeast mixture into egg mixture and whisk to combine.

   Step 4

   Whisk in flour one cup at a time until you've added 6 cups, waiting for each cup of flour to be incorporated before adding more. The texture of the dough should be soft but not sticky. If the dough is sticky, continue adding more flour a little at a time.

   Step 5

   Turn dough out onto floured board and knead until smooth, approximately 5 minutes — continue to lightly dust board with flour while kneading to avoid sticking.

   Step 6

   Lightly coat the inside of a large, clean bowl with oil. Shape dough into round, and place in bowl. Rub additional oil on top of dough, and cover with plastic wrap.

   Step 7

   Cover bowl with a dish towel, and let dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until it's doubled in size; approximately 1 1/2 hours.

   Step 8

   Shape dough into twists, rounds, and doves, embedding hard-boiled eggs, as desired, for decoration. (See our hands-on demo for shaping the dough.)

   Step 9

   Without crowding, place shaped breads on baking sheets that have been lined with parchment paper and dusted with flour. Cover with dish towels and let rise for approximately 1 1/2 hours. To test if dough has risen enough at this point, drop a small piece into a bowl of warm water. If it floats, it's ready for baking. If it sinks, the dough needs to rise more.

   Step 10

   Preheat oven to 275°F.

   Step 11

   Brush egg wash onto some of the breads. Leave others plain, as these can be brushed with glaze after baking.

   Step 12

   Bake breads in bottom third of oven until golden, approximately 15 to 25 minutes depending on size. Check the breads midway through baking to make sure the bottoms aren't getting too dark. If this happens, switch breads to a higher rack in oven.

   Step 13

   Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine lemon juice and sugar to make glaze.

   Step 14

   When breads come out of oven and are still hot, brush those that haven't been egg-washed with glaze, and sprinkle on nonpareils, if desired.