Egg-less Easter Bread

This egg-less Easter Bread is a mildly sweet, soft and fluffy braided bread. Made with whole wheat flour, orange zest, raisins and apricot, this yeast-leavened Easter bread is aromatic and flavorful , just perfect treat for the Holiday Season. Serve it with jam, peanut butter or enjoy by itself. 

What is Easter?

Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the New Testament of the Bible, the event is said to have occurred 3 days after Jesus was crucified by the Romans and died in roughly 30 A.D. The holiday concludes the "Passion of Christ", a series of events and holidays that begins with Lent - a 40 day period of fasting , prayer and sacrifice and ends with holy week, which includes holy Thursday (the celebration of Jesus' last supper with his 12 Apostles, also known as "Maundy Thursday", Good Friday (on which Jesus' crucifixion is observed) and Easter Sunday. Source

What goes into my Egg-less version of Easter Bread ? The Ingredients:

• Whole Wheat Flour: All my bakes are with whole wheat flour, so is this Easter bread. You may use it 1:1 ratio with all purpose flour if your wish.
• Yeast: Yeast is the leavening agent here, which helps the bread rise. I have used dry active yeast. 
• Milk: I have used dairy milk. For a vegan version , you may use any plant based milk like, soy milk or almond milk.
• Sugar : This Easter bread is mildly sweet in taste. I have used sugar in the dough and sprinkled a bit over the bread prior to baking, as it is done in traditional version.
• Orange Zest : Orange Zest lends a refreshing citrus aroma and a wonderful flavor to the bread.
• Raisins and Apricots This Easter bread is studded with golden raisins and chopped dried apricots which makes it all the more rich and delectable. 
• Butter : I have used butter while kneading the flour and also to brush the dough prior to baking. You may use olive oil instead for a vegan version.
• Toppings: Sesame seeds, shaved almonds and granulated sugar are some of the toppings for this braided Easter bread

Related Event:  Easter Bread @Shhhhh Cooking Secretly Challenge

This healthy and delicious Eggless Easter Bread recipe is featured in the Facebook Gourmet group, Shhhhhhhh Cooking Secretly challenge. Here participating members take turn to propose theme for each month. Renu who blogs at   thoughtfully proposed Easter Breads as the theme for the month of March. We post the recipe towards month end which is just perfectly timed for the Easter festival which falls on  4th April , this year. Renu suggested that we bake any traditional Easter bread across the globe. Though we had the freedom to make an egg-less version , the recipe had to be close to its traditional version. Renu has a wonderful blog with many wonderful recipes both from Indian and International Cuisine. You might love to try out her cute looking super soft  Easter Bunny Buns

In this group all participating members are divided into pairs and both partners exchange a set of secret ingredients, using which both have to cook a dish depending upon  the theme for the particular month. Once the dish is ready only the pic of the dish is shared on the group and the other group members take turn in guessing the secret ingredients just by looking at the pic of the dish. The secret ingredients and the dish name are revealed at the end of the month when the recipe is published by the respective blogger.

My partner for the easter Bread theme was Seema who gave me Orange Zest and milk as my two secret ingredients and i made this Eggless Easter Bread using them. In return, i gave her rice flour and raisins and she prepared a traditional non baked Easter bread .    

Dietary Tips:

• Vegetarian Bread
• Egg-less
• Healthy Bake
• Refined flour free
• Yeast leavened bread
• Festive bake
• Kid Friendly
• Healthy and delicious
• Mildly Sweet

Preparation Time: 40 minutes 

Dough Resting Time : 1 hour 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients: Measurements used 1 cup = 240 ml

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 2-3 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoon butter / oil
• 2 teaspoon dry active yeast
• 2 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 tablespoon golden raisins
• 2 tablespoon chopped dried apricot
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla essence
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  

Toppings:

• Milk and butter for brushing the bread
• Almond flakes
• Granulated sugar
• Sesame Seeds

Method:

1. In a bowl take 1/2 cup lukewarm milk. Add sugar and dry yeast to it. Stir well and keep aside for 10 minutes for the yeast to bloom.
2. After 10 minutes the mixture will turn frothy. If it does not , it means the yeast you are using is old and of no use. Throw the mixture and make a fresh starter culture with new batch of yeast.
3. In a mixing bowl take whole wheat flour. Add salt, butter or oil, orange zest, raisins, vanilla essence and chopped apricots and give a good mix. Now make a well into the flour and add the bloomed yeast culture into it. Mix well and knead the flour. Add around 1/2 cup warm milk and knead the flour to a soft dough. Knead the dough for around 5-7 minutes. Tug the dough and keep it in a  greased bowl. Cover it with another bowl and keep it for proofing for about an hour.

4. After an hour the dough will be double in size. Punch down the risen dough and knead again for 2-3 minutes. Now follow this method to make a single large braided Easter bread. 

5. Make 3 equal portions of the dough. Knead each portion and shape it like a long log . Pinch the ends of the 3 logs together firmly and braid. 

6. Loop the braided bread into a circle and gently pinch the ends together and place it on a greased baking tray and cover with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest for another 30 minutes.

7. Preheat the oven at 360 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Celsius.

8. Brush the dough with generous amount of butter and milk mixture and sprinkle with shaved almond and sugar. 

 

9.  You can either make a large Easter bread or make 3 small braided breads by diving the dough into 3 parts and again making 3 parts of each portion. Follow the same procedure as mentioned above. Refer to the collage below for a clear idea. I have topped the smaller breads with sesame seeds as a variation. You may place a vegan chocolate Easter egg in the center of each braided bread to decorate it.

10. Bake the single large Easter bread at 180 degrees Celsius for around 30-35 minutes or until it turns golden brown in color. The smaller breads will require a less time,around 20 minutes.

                       

11. Serve the Easter bread with Jam, Peanut Butter or as it is. Left over bread can be stored at room temperature in an air tight container for a couple of days.

                       

Recipe Notes:

• You can make this Easter bread using all purpose flour or in equal quantities with whole wheat flour. I have made it using only whole wheat flour.
• If the dry yeast does not bloom and your milk does not turn frothy, it means the yeast you are using is old and expired. You need to make a fresh starter culture using a new batch of yeast.
• Always add the dry yeast to lukewarm milk. If the milk is hot, it will kill the yeast. If it is cold, the yeast will not bloom either.
• For a vegan version use plant based milk and replace butter with olive oil.
• Adding apricot and raisins is optional but it gives a rich and festive look and taste.
• Orange zest gives a love aroma and flavor to the bread. I would recommend not skipping it.
• Usually and egg wash is used to brush the breads to get that shiny golden brown color. In this egg-less version, i have used milk and butter mixture for brushing the bread dough prior to  baking. It not only makes the bread soft but also lends a lovely golden color to the bread. You may use milk alone.

Would love to hear from you !

I hope you would love trying out this healthy and delicious Easter Bread this Holiday Season. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with use in the form of likes and comments in the section below this post.

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See you soon with yet another healthy and delicious creation from my Kitchen. Until then Stay safe and eat right !

 

Happy Cooking !

Happy Eating !

 

Regards

Poonam Bachhav

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