Easter Bread

egg bread

Some of you may remember my Easter bread recipe from last year. Everyone loved it so much that I made it again, and it’s even better now! I added a glaze to make it a bit sweeter and also played around with the colors of the eggs in the middle.

For years my family and I would dye Easter eggs even though we aren’t Christian and don’t celebrate Easter. I just loved it so much that I forced my parents into buying all the kits to dye eggs and I would spend hours making tons of them. I stopped a few years ago, but then I figured out how to make my own dyes for this bread. It’s so easy; all you have to do is stir some vinegar and food coloring into boiling water. If you put stickers on before you dip the eggs and peel them off after, you are left with white spots (or whatever shape your stickers are). I decided to try to tie-dye mine, and it was actually pretty easy to do. I dyed the water the color I wanted and let the eggs sit for a few minutes, and then I splashed a few drops of pure food coloring on an egg before submerging it again for just a few seconds. Let the eggs sit for a few seconds, blot dry, and you have beautifully tie-dyed eggs.

As good as the bread is and as pretty as the eggs are, I must say they could use a little more sweetness. Instead of adding more sugar and potentially upsetting the delicate balance of the bread itself, I decided to drizzle the whole thing with a glaze. I prefer vanilla, but you can add whatever flavor you want, from citrus (use the zest) to almond (use almond extract). For more flavor, you can even mix in some dried or candied fruit like orange peel, raisins, or cherries. Even if you keep the bread plain, it will definitely be the star of your Easter brunch! ~Kayla of The Nerdy Chef.

easter bread with hardboiled eggs

recipe for easter bread

easter bread

Easter Bread Recipe , makes 6

2 1/4 tsp Yeast
1 1/4 Cups + 1 tsp Milk
Pinch Salt
1/3 Cup Butter
9 Eggs
1/2 Cup Sugar
5 Cups Flour
Vinegar
Food Coloring
Sprinkles
1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Milk
1/8 tsp Vanilla Extract (or other type of extract or zest)

Boil 1/2 cup water in a mug or glass measuring cup. Whisk in 1 tsp vinegar and food coloring. Gently place an egg in the mixture and swirl lightly for up to 5 minutes or until desired color. Repeat with 5 more eggs, changing water when necessary or when changing colors.

Combine the butter and 1 1/4 cups milk in a small pot until the butter is melted. Cool until just warm.

Combine the yeast, salt, 2 eggs, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Fold in the milk mixture, then beat in half of the flour using the dough hook. Gradually add the remaining flour to form a stiff dough; you may not use all of it. Knead until smooth.

Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm, draft-free area for an hour or until doubled. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each into a 1″ thick log. Twist two ropes together, then form it into a ring. Repeat with remaining dough.

Place the rings on parchment-lined cookie trays. Place an egg in the center of each; it should be fairly snug. Cover and let rise for another hour.

Preheat oven to 350F. Beat the remaining egg with 1T water. Brush onto the rings, avoiding the egg in the center. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Whisk the powdered sugar, remaining milk, and vanilla together until smooth. Drizzle onto the cooled bread and top with sprinkles. Enjoy your Easter Bread!

Easter Bread
Author: 
Serves: 12+
 

The traditional colorful, braided Easter bread with a hard-boiled egg in the middle.
Ingredients
  • 2¼ tsp Yeast
  • 1¼ Cups + 1 tsp Milk
  • Pinch Salt
  • ⅓ Cup Butter
  • 9 Eggs
  • ½ Cup Sugar
  • 5 Cups Flour
  • Vinegar
  • Food Coloring
  • Sprinkles
  • ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1 tsp Milk
  • ⅛ tsp Vanilla Extract (or other type of extract or zest)

Instructions
  1. Boil ½ cup water in a mug or glass measuring cup. Whisk in 1 tsp vinegar and food coloring. Gently place an egg in the mixture and swirl lightly for up to 5 minutes or until desired color. Repeat with 5 more eggs, changing water when necessary or when changing colors.
  2. Combine the butter and 1¼ cups milk in a small pot until the butter is melted. Cool until just warm.
  3. Combine the yeast, salt, 2 eggs, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Fold in the milk mixture, then beat in half of the flour using the dough hook. Gradually add the remaining flour to form a stiff dough; you may not use all of it. Knead until smooth.
  4. Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm, draft-free area for an hour or until doubled. Punch down the dough and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each into a 1″ thick log. Twist two ropes together, then form it into a ring. Repeat with remaining dough.
  5. Place the rings on parchment-lined cookie trays. Place an egg in the center of each; it should be fairly snug. Cover and let rise for another hour.
  6. Preheat oven to 350F. Beat the remaining egg with 1T water. Brush onto the rings, avoiding the egg in the center. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
  7. Whisk the powdered sugar, remaining milk, and vanilla together until smooth. Drizzle onto the cooled bread and top with sprinkles.

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Going Grey

avoid getting grey hair

Getting gray hair

getting grey hair

Shirt: Tucker (old) similar / Pants: Minnie Pants by J.Crew / Cardigan: TSE (old) / Shoes: Donald J. Pliner (old) similar & similar / watch: Rolex men’s / stud bracelet: Hermes (old) similar / snake bracelet: Wren & Glory (c/o) / tooth necklace: t. suzanne jewelry

I got “a wild hair” {translation: I’m impulsive and wanted to do something crazy.}. Sort of literally. I have grey hair and dye it my natural color - dark brown. But I’m tired. Oh so very tired of dying it every 3 weeks. Every. 3. Weeks. I saw a fab photo of 20 year old who dyed her hair grey which made me want to dye my hair grey and look 20. So that’s when my wild impulsive side kicked in and I wanted gray hair. Now.

I dropped in at my friend Ashley’s favorite place and my honest hairdresser graciously omitted that I wouldn’t look 20 but did say my naturally curly (frizzy) hair would fall out from being over processed and I’d be in every 2 weeks. I want to be hair lazy and I’d like to keep my hair even if it’s a love/hate relationship {we’re codependent that way}. So, my honest hairdresser recommended chunky streaks to camouflage new grey hair and said I have a week to change my mind to any other option. I’m trying to decide if I look like I belong on Jersey Shore, or if it looks somewhat stylish.

This outfit is for heading to a much younger friend’s 40th birthday bash… hmmm, maybe that had something to do with my need to cover my grey hair since I’d be the old lady in the room. I thought the red would take the attention off my hair and wearing my fave color always makes me feel great.

For all of you who have grey hair and cover it, how do you cover grey hair? {Seriously… please let me know, I’ve only got 6 days, 10 hours left to decide.}

linked at: Visible Monday, Glow Kouture, Glamamom, Style Sessions

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Pi Day Giveaway

pi day tshirt

I’m a geek in a house full of geeks. And we are not too proud to admit it. We celebrate our dorkiness and revel in the fact that one day each year we can proudly say “it’s our day!” and this year, we are once again celebrating with a Pi day giveaway. That’s because our big day is not the anniversary of the first Big Bang Theory or Bill Gate’s birthday, it’s March 14… or Pi Day (3.14, get it?). It’s a legit national holiday folks.

Around the country there are celebrations, such as Einstein look-alike contests, pie-throwing at schools - typically Math teachers after students have memorized a whole lot of Pi, and the mailing of acceptance letters at the holy grail of geekdom, MIT.

einstein goofing off

By the way, for those who, also like me, have forgotten middle school math, Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to the diameter. Meaning, for any circle, you can divide the circumference (the distance around the circle) by the diameter and always get exactly the same number. And that number is irrational… which means it never ends. {yes, Chloe, I googled that!}

The giveaway: we have 2 t-shirts to give away (pictured above) from the super-nice geeks at ThinkGeek. This treasure trove of loveable geek paraphernalia is letting us give away 2 of these adorable navy blue 100% cotton babydoll t-shirts. They are fitted, not baggy like the guys’ tees, with a Pi symbol printed on the front in white using the first 4493 digits of Pi used to construct the Pi symbol itself. That’s a whole lot of Pi. Enough for everybody to share.

To enter, leave a comment telling us which of the following you’ve done, along with your email. Each counts as a separate entry, so you get up to 4 entries if you’re doing the math. We’re giving away 2 shirts so there will be TWO winners!

1. Leave a comment below telling us the name of your favorite math teacher. If you want, you can tell us why.
2. Follow us on Bloglovin’ (heart icon) & tell us below
3. Follow us on RSS & tell us below
4. Follow us on Twitter & tell us below

Entries close 3/13 at midnight EST. Two winners will be chosen by random number generator on 3/14.

 

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