How to Make Easter Bread (Traditional Italian Recipe)

This Italian Easter bread recipe yields a beautiful, slightly sweet, braided yeasted bread that’s as meaningful as it is delicious.

With colorful Easter eggs baked right into the dough, it’s a festive centerpiece for your Easter table.

This Jewish girl has fond memories of enjoying Easter bread at my Italian husband’s family celebrations and thinking hmm… this tastes a lot like challah!

Except challah doesn’t get the fun sprinkles or dyed eggs, making this loaf way more fun. Don’t tell anyone I said that! 

What is Easter Bread?

Traditional Italian Easter bread is a soft, enriched sweet bread similar to brioche bread and challah bread.  

It represents rebirth and new life, often connected to Jesus Christ and the symbolism of the resurrection.

The braided shape is sometimes said to represent the holy trinity, while the dyed eggs nestled in the dough symbolize new life. 

Ingredients

• All purpose flour
• Instant yeast
• Milk
• Butter 
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Lemon zest
• Salt

How to Make Easter Bread

Activate the Yeast

Start by combining the instant yeast, salt and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Then, whisk in the eggs. 

Warm the milk and butter in a saucepan on the stovetop to about 120F degrees. It’s very helpful to use a kitchen thermometer to monitor the temperature of the milk. 

Then, stir the warmed milk into the yeast mixture. 

​

Make the Dough

Using the dough hook attachment of your stand mixer (you can also use a wooden spoon for this part), start kneading the first 2 cups of flour into the yeast mixture. 

Then, slowly add the remaining 2 cups of flour while the dough hook is working. 

​

Knead the Dough

Once all of the flour is added, let your mixer knead the dough on low speed for 12-15 minutes. You can also do this by hand, but it’s a long time! 

Be sure to watch for the dough to start to stick to the dough hook and not to the bottom of the bowl.

If the dough is still sticking to the bowl by the 11th or 12th minute, add a few spoonfuls of flour. I usually end up adding 3-4 more tablespoons of flour. 

Rest the Dough

Take your dough and form it into a ball. Cover it with a dish towel and let it rest for about 10 minutes. 

During this time, preheat your oven to 200F degrees. 

Braid the Dough

After the dough has rested, punch it down and divide it into 3 pieces.

Roll each piece into a rope approximately 24″ long. It doesn’t have to be perfect. 

Now, braid the dough and connect the two ends together so that it forms a ring. 

Arrange the Eggs on the Dough

If you are using dyed eggs, arrange them on top of the dough.

Do not press them down! They will sink into the dough during the baking process. 

Let the Dough Rise

Turn the oven off and place your braided dough ring into the warm oven. Let it rise for about 45-60 minutes. 

Bake

Before you bake your Easter bread, brush it with beaten egg and sprinkle with nonpareils or colored sprinkles, if desired.

Now, bake that beautiful loaf until it’s golden brown. 

Watch how to make Easter Bread!

Variations and Substitutions

​Here are some different ways to customize your Easter bread:

• Swap the yeast. If you only have active dry yeast in the house, you can use it in place of the instant yeast, although you should expect longer rise times. 
• Make it sweet. Add dried fruits like raisins or apricots or even chocolate chips for a sweeter twist
• Switch up the zest. Replacing the lemon zest with orange zest imparts a brighter, sweeter flavor. 
• Make them mini. When you divide the dough into 3 portions, make each of them a mini loaf instead of braiding into one large loaf.
• Experiment with extracts. Swapping almond extract or anise extract for the vanilla extract gives an Old world Italian touch to this recipe.

Make Ahead Instructions

Yes, you can prepare this Easter bread recipe ahead of time!

Once you shape the bread into a braided ring, place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover it with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator. This will pause the rising of the dough. 

When you are ready to bake, remove the dough ring from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.

Then, let it rise in a warm oven for 45-60 minutes. After the rise, bake it according to the instructions in the recipe card. 

How to Decorate the Eggs for this Bread

​Dying the Easter eggs for this bread is part of the fun! Some tips for success:

• Use food coloring or natural dyes.
• Dye the eggs and allow them to dry completely before placing them on top of the the dough.
• You can use uncooked eggs (they will cook as the bread bakes) or hard-boiled eggs.

Can I Make Easter Bread without the Colored Eggs?

Yes! If you prefer, you can skip the eggs and just do the sprinkles, or just skip decorations entirely.

You’ll still get a delicious, fluffy bread with a soft interior and lightly sweet crust. 

Storage Instructions

Don’t toss that leftover Easter bread! It’s great for sandwiches and French toast.

Store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

For longer storage, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and seal it in a freezer bag. I like to slice it before freezing so I can pop out a few slices at a time. 

When you make this Easter bread recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a rating or leave a comment below. Enjoy! 

For more Easter recipes, try these:

• Peeps Bunny Sugar Cookies
• Portuguese Sweet Bread Rolls
• Easter Candy Charcuterie Board