Pregnant Doll (Easter Baby)

Easter babies are an Italian tradition in my husband’s family.

Step: 1

Mix yeast, water, and 1 teaspoon of the sugar in a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.

Step: 2

In a separate bowl, mix milk, salt, butter, 2 eggs, and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Add about half of the flour and beat until very smooth, then pour in the yeast mixture. Add the remaining flour, making a stiff dough–you can add additional flour if necessary.

Step: 3

Place dough on a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic. Put dough into greased bowl, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Step: 4

Deflate the dough, place it on a floured board, and divide it into 6 equal pieces. Shape into rounds and cover with plastic wrap while you roll out each piece.

Step: 5

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.

Step: 6

Roll a dough piece with your hands to form a 1-inch-thick rope, and then shape rope into a “U” shape. Put a whole, raw egg into the inside of the “U”, twisting the rope to form a fishtail at the bottom. Transfer loaf to prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Step: 7

Brush each “baby” with the beaten egg and decorate with colored sprinkles. Allow loaves to rest until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

Per Serving: 602 calories; protein 19g; carbohydrates 82.9g; fat 21.4g; cholesterol 309.4mg; sodium 198.1mg.

The quality of the flour could make a real deal to your bread. Different brands do vary. Great taste or Canadian flours, which are bet higher in gluten, may give you a better rise than standard dough flours – especially if you’re make wholemeal bread , which not always rise as well as white bread.

To make this in a breadmaker , add all the ingredients to your breadmaker and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

A bread first rising can be make in the fridge 24 hours . This slows down the time it takes to rise to double its size, giving it a deeper flavour. It’s also a great limit , as you can start it night before , then finish it off the next day.