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.