Food - Easter Bread, Dolls and Cinnamon Rolls

Easter Bread, Dolls and Cinnamon Rolls

adapted from the Simotti Family Italian Easter Pizza recipe

Traditionally this dough would be used to make bread which in Italy was called pizza. The recipe was handed down be word of mouth, so amongst our family there are several versions. I adapted this from one that my mother Pauline Simotti wrote down while watching her mother-in-law, Mafalda Simotti, make the dough. The original recipe had a strong Anise flavor which is very popular in old Italian baked goods.

My father would make easter dolls and add an egg to the middle, using two strips of dough to form a cross. He said it was to signify the birth and death of Jesus as celebration of the Easter miracle. 

I made the dolls smaller, so I don't add the egg anymore. I also make it a little sweeter, added extra spices to pair with the anise, and more "eggie" like a cross between a Challah and a Brioche.

This recipe can be divided to make several loafs, dolls or cinnamon rolls. See notes below for shaping the dough.

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

1 cup sugar
2 tsp. salt
3 yeast packets 

(I use yeast with no added chemicals, like Red Star. I no longer use Fleischmanss because they add a chemical sorbitan monostearate. When I had serious IBS issues, I discovered this ingredient can irritate the GI tract.)

8-9 cups flour

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Wet ingredients

2 cups milk (skim is fine, I use lactose free)

1 cup butter

1 tsp. Anise

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1 tbsp. Rum or 1 tsp. rum extract

Eggs

4 eggs, beaten

Colored sprinkles for decoration (Optional)

I use stand mixer with a dough hook. If you don't have one, then just mix everything by hand and knead 5 to 10 minutes until smooth.

Dry yeast method (or rapid rise, special yeast not needed)

In the mixing bowl, add sugar, salt, 2 cups flour and ground spices. Mix until blended.

Crack the eggs into a small bowl before combing all of them to a larger bowl. This way if you add a shell with the last egg you don't have to fish it out from whole batch. 

In a 4 cup glass measuring cup or microwave proof bowl, add the milk, and the butter. It doesn't need to be softened. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. The butter should melt but it is OK, if there is still some solid. Stirring the milk with help melt the rest. Test the temperate with a kitchen thermometer. It should be 120 to 130 degrees. Closer to 130 is better if you are using cold eggs as this will bring the temp of the mixture down. The yeast needs the temp to be above 120. If needed microwave an additional 30 seconds to bring the temp back up. If too hot, stir it to cool it off until it is at or below 130. Do not add egg to cool it because the hot milk will partially cook the egg.

Add the extracts and rum to the milk/butter mixture. Stir.

Now you should have the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl, the wet ingredients (milk/butter/flavorings) in a pourable measuring cup or bowl, and the eggs.

Slowly add 1/2 of the wet ingredients to the flour while mixing on low speed. Add 1/2 the eggs, mix. Add 2 cups of flour slowly while mixing or it may spill out of the bowl. Add the rest of the eggs and wet ingredients, pouring slowly. 

Add the rest of the flour reserving a cup or two for kneading. Tip for using a dough hook, stop when a ball starts to form. Use some of the flour and sprinkle it over the moist dough to remove it from the hook. Pour it out of the bowl onto a floured surface. Use more flour to scrape the rest of the dough out of the bowl. 

Knead lightly only about a minute or so, since the dough hook has already provided some of the kneading to form the gluten.

Cover the dough and let rest for 10 minutes.

Shaping the dough

Divide the dough according to what you will be making.

1/2 will make 12 cinnamon rolls

1/4 will make 1 large or 2 small dolls

1/4 will make one loaf, oblong or round

Once shaped, let rise for 30 - 60 minutes in warm location.  It may take up to 2 hours for the dough to rise, usually to double in size. Tip: I sometimes place a boiling bowl of water in a cold oven and put in the dough. 

When the bread has doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350.

Bake until browned usually:
Dolls take 10-15 minutes
Loaf takes 20-25 minutes
Cinnamon rolls 15 minutes

Cool for 5 minutes then remove from pans. When completely cooled, frost and decorate as desired. You can use butter cream frosting or a simple glaze. Sprinkle with colored sprinkles. 

Butter cream Frosting:
1 cup butter, softened
8 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tps vanilla
2-4 tbls Milk
Beat butter until smooth, add in the vanilla and 2 cups of sugar, 1 tbls milk. Mix and continue adding the rest. Less milk will make it stiffer, so add milk according to your preference.
Beat on heat until smooth and fluffy. 

Glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar
2-4 tablespoons milk or water
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix until combined. Should be like thick syrup that can be drizzled over the bread, rolls, dolls.