 Easter
Breads
Festive and flavorful, these holiday loaves are a welcome symbol of
spring and worthy of celebration year-round.
The rich, festive
breads we enjoy in early spring are steeped in history, folklore,
and symbolism. Originally baked as a tribute to the end of winter's
sparse fare and later associated with the celebrations that followed
periods of religious fasting, Easter's light, yeast-risen loaves are
abundantly laden with luxurious ingredients, such as cheese,
almonds, candied citrus peel, and precious spices like cinnamon and
saffron. The approach to holiday bread baking is one that sanctions
us to lavish the loaves with extra care.
Easter breads are
customarily decorated with colored eggs, drizzled with icing,
studded with bits of candied and dried fruit, divided into ropes of
dough, and elaborately braided into rounds, or stuffed with rich
fillings. While the ancient meanings surrounding the ingredients and
design of these celebratory breads are based on Easter and
springtime traditions, the magnificent loaves that result, with
their fine crumb and sweet flavor, are treats that can be savored
throughout the year.
Easter breads take
us on a grand tour of Europe. With its rich ingredients of eggs,
butter, and raisins, our Babka rises high and golden above the daily
bread. In its native Ukraine and Poland, a traditional blessing
readies the loaf for the Easter table. England's Hot Cross Buns are
marked with sweet icing. Almonds ground into a sweet paste supply
the signature filling in a Dutch Paasbrood.
In Italy, Crescia
is flavored with sharp Parmesan cheese and served with a light
supper or lunch. Fragrant saffron is traditionally added to Pćo-Doce
-- the lightly sweet, golden loaf of Portugal. In Greece, Easter
bread traditions abound. Scarlet eggs tucked into its braided crown
are hallmarks of
Tsoureki, classic Greek Easter bread. Our
Easter Morning Biscuits, with their twisted and serpentine shapes,
are a take on another Greek favorite, Koulourakia.
These crisp,
honey-sweetened biscuits originate from Ikaria -- a rustic Greek
Island in the Aegean Sea -- and are a frequent feature at an Easter
feast.
Tsoureki Recipe
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