Italian Easter Bread, revisited

I first developed this recipe seven years ago. Life has changed a lot since then, and so it’s time for this recipe to change with the times, too. Every holiday still feels like a work in progress, as I try to find my stride. If someone had told me I’d still be feeling all this seven years later, I’m not sure how I would’ve found the energy to get through that first year.

Lately, my complicated feelings with this loss are related to the idea of family, and feeling like I belong. I used to host all the holidays but we tend to bounce around now, leaving me feeling a little like an orphan. It’s too complicated to explain why I don’t host anymore, except that sometimes the family you choose, or that chooses you, is the best one.

My original recipe made a rather large ring of Easter bread. I recently paired it down to make a smaller one, better suited for the three of us. It still yields enough to keep us happily munching on it a day or two later. I hope to bake a few more of these this week to share with neighbors, and friends we’ll be seeing on Easter Sunday.

Isabella and Virginia were so excited when they saw me making this bread yesterday. They also showed an extraordinary amount of patience because it wasn’t ready to eat until breakfast this morning. Definitely a great way to greet Monday morning, along with mama dancing on their bed to Manic Monday when I woke them up. Okay, maybe I had more fun with the dancing on the bed bit than they did, but I don’t think they’d have me any other way.

Related Recipe: Pizza di Ricotta Dolce {Sweet Ricotta Cheese Pie}

This recipe is now part of my new site, Simmering. It can be found here.

 

SaveSave