Italian Easter Bread

colored sprinkles

In a large mixing bowl, blend the sugar, salt, and yeast well with 1 cup of
the flour. In a saucepan, combine milk and butter, heating slowly until
liquid is warm and butter is melted. Pour the milk into the dry
ingredients and beat 125 strokes with a wooden spoon. Add eggs and 1/2 cup
flour or enough to make a thick batter. beat vigorously for 2 minutes.

Then stir in enough flour to make a ball of dough that draws away from the
sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a floured board and knead for about 10
minutes, working in additional flour to overcome stickiness. Place the
dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover tightly with
plastic wrap and put in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk
about 1 hour. Meanwhile, combine the fruit,nuts, and anise seed. Punch
down the dough and return it to a lightly floured board. Knead in the
fruit mixture, keeping the syrupy pieces dusted with flour until they are
worked into the dough. Divide the dough in half. Carefully roll each
piece into a 24 inch rope – the fruit and nuts will make this slightly
difficult. Loosely twist the two ropes together and form a ring on a
greased baking sheet. Pinch the ends together well. Brush the dough with
melted shortening. Push aside the twist to make a place for each egg.

Push eggs down carefully as far as possible. Cover the bread with wax
paper and let rise in a warm,draft-free place until double in bulk, about 1
hour. Bake the bread in a preheated 350 F oven for about 35 minutes or
until a toothpick inserted in a twist comes out clean. Place on a wire
rack to cool. Once the bread is cool, drizzle the icing on top between the
eggs, and decorate with colored sprinkles. Makes 1 loaf.