Neapolitan Easter Bread Recipes

NEAPOLITAN EASTER BREAD (CASATIELLO)

Steps:

• Grease a 10-inch or 24-centimeter tube pan with a flat bottom with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons/30 grams semolina, tapping out any extra once the interior is fully coated.
• Combine herbs, 2 tablespoons oil and a good pinch of salt in the bowl of a food processor. Blitz to form a paste, scraping down sides as necessary, and then set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the lukewarm water. Use a spatula to stir mixture until combined and turn out onto a floured work surface. Dust your hands with flour, then knead dough for 5 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. You may need to add more flour if dough is too sticky, but do not add too much or it will become dry. Shape dough into a ball and set aside. Scrape down, clean and dry work surface, then dust with more flour.
• Roll dough into a 12-by-16-inch/30-by-40-centimeter rectangle, with the longest side toward you. Spread evenly with herb paste, leaving a 1 1/2-inch/4-centimeter border at the top and bottom, and a 1/2-inch/1-centimeter border on the sides. Scatter salami, Gruyère, Parmesan and egg evenly over herb paste. Grind pepper generously over the surface and then gently push the cheese, egg and meat into the dough.
• Starting from the longest side, roll dough into a log (as you would a Swiss roll or the dough for cinnamon rolls), making sure to tuck dough in at the ends as you go so contents don't fall out. Press edges to seal.
• Transfer dough to pan, with the long sealed side facing down. The stuffed dough will be heavy, so make sure you have a good grip on both ends before you lift it. Use your hands to bring the ends together, pinching them into place so they form a continuous ring of dough. (It may be easier to shape it into a ring on the counter first and then transfer it to pan.) Using a pastry brush, coat dough with remaining oil and then sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon/15 grams semolina. Cover with a slightly damp cloth and let rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until nearly doubled in size.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/230 degrees Celsius.
• Bake bread for 30 minutes, until golden and crisp; it will seem very hard but will soften once it cools. Remove from oven and set aside for 15 minutes to cool slightly. Turn bread out of pan onto a wooden board. (You may need to run a knife along edges of pan to release the bread.) Serve warm or cold.

NEAPOLITAN EASTER BREAD

Steps:

• Combine the lard, yeast, and salt with the flour, adding as much water as necessary to get a rather soft dough. Work it steadily for about 10 minutes Place it into a bowl previously sprinkled with olive oil, cover with a woolen cloth and leave it to raise in a lukewarm place. After about 1 1/2 hours, when the dough has leavened, place it on a pastry board, punch it with your hands to stop it swelling and flatten it out into a large square (about 15" x 24"). Spread on some lard and sprinkle with a lot of fresh cracked pepper.
• Now add 1/4 lb each of chopped up salame and chopped up prosciutto. Sprinkle with coarsely grated pecorino romano or parmigiano. Roll up into a tube. Grease an angel food cake pan with lard and place tube inside (forming a ring).
• Lay 5 eggs (wash them but do not boil them first) on top and top with a criss cross of dough (2 strips of dough, forming an X, laid on top to hold down the eggs). Let rise for another hour or more (again, should be more than doubled). When ready, place in oven at 375 - 400 F (185-200 C) until the top is nice and brown and looks ready. This normally takes about an hour to an hour and a half. The smell in your house should tell you it is ready (my mouth starts watering and I know it is time :-).
• Now the hard part. Let bread cool. Place in a paper bag (NOT PLASTIC) and leave it for the following day (do not refrigerate). It really needs a day to get full flavor. Leftover is great toasted the following day or even topped with a mild cheese and tomato slices and toasted in the oven.

NEAPOLITAN SWIRL BREAD

Steps:

• Place the flour, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix on low speed to combine. Add the milk and 3 of the eggs and mix on low speed until well combined. Increase the speed to medium high and mix until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes.
• Reduce the speed to medium and start adding the butter a little at a time, waiting until completely incorporated before adding more and beating for 7 to 10 minutes total. Increase the mixer to medium high and continue to mix until the dough is glossy and slightly tacky but not sticky, 7 to 10 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, bring 1/4 cup water to a boil. Put the dried strawberries in a spice grinder or mini chopper and pulse until finely ground (you should have a scant 1/2 cup). Add the strawberry powder and 7 teaspoons of boiling water to a small bowl and stir until combined into a paste (the texture should be like thick, sticky peanut butter).
• Add the cocoa powder and 5 teaspoons of boiling water to another small bowl and stir until combined.
• Divide the dough into 3 pieces. Add one portion of the dough back to the bowl of the stand mixer along with the vanilla bean paste. Knead with the dough hook on medium speed until combined and the dough is still tacky but not sticky, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
• Add another portion of the dough to the mixer bowl along with the strawberry paste and a few drops of the food coloring. Knead on medium speed, adding more food coloring as needed to get the desired shade, until combined and the dough is still tacky but not sticky, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a separate small bowl. Wipe the mixer bowl and dough hook clean.
• Add the last portion of dough to the mixer bowl along with the chocolate paste. Knead on medium speed until combined and the dough is still tacky but not sticky, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a third small bowl.
• Cover each bowl of dough with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours.
• To assemble, individually roll out the 3 pieces of chilled dough on separate sheets of parchment, dusting with flour as needed, into three 9-by-5-inch rectangles. Stack the pieces on top of each other with the chocolate dough on the bottom, vanilla in the middle and strawberry on the top.
• Roll out the stack of dough into a 17-by-8-inch rectangle, flipping the stack over now and then to keep the layers even and making sure to square off the ends (this will ensure that all the layers stick and bake together). With the chocolate layer on the bottom and starting from a shorter end, start rolling the dough into a tight spiral, like a jelly roll cake.
• Generously butter a 9-by-5-inch nonstick loaf pan and place the rolled dough inside, seam-side down. Generously butter a piece of plastic wrap large enough to cover the pan and place it butter-side down loosely over the pan. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it reaches 1 inch above the rim of the pan, about 3 hours.
• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Beat the remaining 1 egg with 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the loaf is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the middle reaches 190 degrees F, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the loaf to loosen and turn the loaf out of the pan. Let cool completely top-side up on the rack.

ITALIAN EASTER BREAD (ANISE FLAVORED)

Steps:

• Mix 1 cup of flour with sugar, salt, and yeast in a bowl, stir well. Place milk and anise extract into a small saucepan over low heat, and warm to about 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). Make a well in the center of the flour mixture with your hand, and pour in the milk mixture; swirl with your hand in a circular motion to combine the flour mixture with the milk mixture. Mix in butter and eggs, one at a time, then mix in remaining flour until dough begins to pull together.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead until soft but elastic, about 8 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth, and let dough rest for 10 minutes; cut dough into halves.
• On floured work surface, roll each half into a ball, then shape the balls into 2 long pieces, about 1 1/2 inches thick and 18 to 20 inches long. Pinch the 2 top ends together, and loosely twist the pieces to form a twisted loaf; pinch the bottom ends together, and tuck the two ends underneath the loaf. (Alternately, form the twist into a ring, and pinch the ends together.)
• Grease a baking sheet, lay the loaf onto the prepared sheet, and cover with a damp towel; let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Brush loaf with beaten egg, and sprinkle with colored decorating dragees.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake the decorated loaf in the preheated oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Watch closely towards the end of the baking time that the bread does not begin to burn. Transfer to wire rack immediately after baking to cool.

NEAPOLITAN STYLE HOMEMADE BREAD

Steps:

• Sprinkle yeast and sugar into 4 cups of warm water.
• Pour 5 lbs of flour into a 12-14 quart pot.
• When yeast bubbles up, add to flour with 3 additional cups of water, mixing in flour with a kneading motion.
• If a little sticky, add additional flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
• After completely kneaded into a dough, rub entire dough with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil.
• Set in a warm place to rise, covered, for 2- 2 1/2 hours, until doubled in bulk.
• After dough has risen, place on a floured surface and divide into four loaves.
• If dough is sticky, sprinkle some flour on your hands.
• Do not handle dough too much.
• Shape dough into 4 round loaves and cover.
• Let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
• Bake on either bread stones or cookie sheets that have been greased and sprinkled with cornmeal in a preheated 400° oven till a golden brown, about 30-35 minutes.
• The loaf should have a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom with your knuckles.