Italian Easter Bread (Pane di Pasqua)
Pane di Pasqua is a soft, lightly sweet Italian Easter bread, braided or shaped into a crown with one or more whole eggs nestled into the dough before baking. The eggs cook in the oven alongside the bread, emerging with a hard-boiled interior and a glossy shell fused into the crust. The dough is enriched with eggs, butter, and milk, flavoured with vanilla and citrus zest, and takes about 20 minutes of active work plus 2 to 3 hours of rising time. No stand mixer required, though one makes the kneading easier. The bread keeps well for 3 to 4 days wrapped at room temperature and freezes for up to 2 months. This is a straightforward enriched bread: if you can make a brioche or a milk bread, you can make pane di Pasqua.
Italian Easter preparations start well before the actual holiday, and bread is central to the table. Pane di Pasqua appears in various forms across different regions: in the south it is often called cuzzupa or scarcella and shaped into animals or figures; in the north it is more typically a braided ring. What unites them all is the decorated egg, a symbol of resurrection, pressed into the dough before the final rise and baked in place.
It pairs well with the savoury Easter table alongside Easter Pie (Pasqualina), but it is just as good on its own the morning after Easter, toasted and spread with butter.
This Recipe Works If You Need
- No stand mixer? The dough can be kneaded entirely by hand in about 15 minutes.
- Make ahead? Yes. Do the first rise overnight in the fridge, then shape, do the second rise, and bake the next morning.
- Freezer-friendly? Yes, up to 2 months. Slice before freezing for easier portioning.
- Dairy-free? Use plant-based milk and vegan butter. The texture will be slightly less rich but still very good.
- One bowl? Yes. The dough comes together in a single large bowl with no extra equipment beyond a baking tray.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The eggs bake right in the bread. Pressing raw eggs into the dough before the final rise means they cook through during baking. It looks impressive and requires no extra effort.
- The crumb is soft and slightly sweet. Butter, eggs, and milk in the dough produce a tender, pillowy texture that is somewhere between a brioche and a milk loaf.
- It is highly customisable. The base dough works with many flavour additions, and the shape can be as simple or elaborate as you like.
- It stays fresh for days. The enriched dough slows staling significantly. Day two slices are excellent toasted.
Ingredient Notes
Flour: Strong bread flour gives the best structure and produces the characteristic chewy-yet-soft crumb of an enriched bread. All-purpose flour works but produces a slightly softer, less structured loaf. Durum wheat flour (semola rimacinata) is used in some southern Italian versions and gives a more golden colour and a slightly denser crumb.
Yeast: Either active dry or instant yeast works here. If using active dry yeast, proof it first in the warm milk with a pinch of sugar for 10 minutes until foamy. This confirms the yeast is alive before you commit the rest of the ingredients. Instant yeast can go straight into the flour.
Eggs (in the dough): Room temperature eggs blend more evenly into the dough. They contribute colour, richness, and structure.
Eggs (for decoration): Use raw, uncooked eggs. They cook through fully during baking to hard-boiled. If you want to use dyed eggs (which is traditional in many regions), colour them beforehand with food dye and let them dry completely before pressing them into the shaped dough.
Orange and lemon zest: Both together give a bright, well-rounded citrus flavour. Use unwaxed fruit if possible. Zest finely so there are no large chewy pieces in the dough.
Butter: Softened, unsalted butter added gradually during kneading gives the dough richness and keeps the crumb tender. Do not add cold butter straight in as it inhibits gluten development.
Tips for a Soft, Golden Loaf
- Knead until smooth and elastic. The dough should pass a rough windowpane test: a small piece stretched between your fingers should become translucent without tearing immediately. This takes about 10-12 minutes in a stand mixer or 15 minutes by hand.
- Do not rush the rises. The first rise develops flavour; the second develops structure. A warm, draught-free spot (around 25-28°C) is ideal. If your kitchen is cold, place the covered dough in the oven with just the oven light on.
- Press the eggs in firmly before the second rise. They need to be secure enough to stay in place as the dough puffs around them. Press each egg about halfway into the braid and use crossed strips of dough over each egg to anchor it.
- Brush with egg wash just before baking. A beaten egg brushed evenly over the surface gives the deep golden glaze. Avoid getting egg wash on the decorative eggs themselves, as it makes the shells look dull.
- Check for doneness with a thermometer. The internal temperature of a fully baked enriched bread should be around 88-92°C (190-195°F). The crust should be a deep golden brown all over.
Substitutions
Dairy-free: Replace the milk with oat milk or almond milk in equal quantity. Use vegan butter (block-style, not spreadable) in place of regular butter. The crumb will be slightly less rich but the texture is still good.
Egg-free (dough only): Replace each egg in the dough with 3 tablespoons of aquafaba (the liquid from a tin of chickpeas). The flavour is nearly identical and the structure holds well. For the decorative eggs, use blown-out egg shells filled with coloured water, or simply omit them and decorate with sprinkles or coloured sugar instead.
No citrus zest: Substitute with 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract plus a few drops of orange extract if you have it. The flavour will be sweeter and less bright but still pleasant.
Anise flavour (traditional in some regions): Add 1 teaspoon of anise extract or 1 tablespoon of anisette liqueur to the dough. This is the classic flavour in several southern Italian versions and is worth trying if you enjoy anise.
Troubleshooting
Bread did not rise: The yeast was likely dead or the milk was too hot (above 43°C kills yeast) or too cold (below 20°C will not activate it). Always proof active dry yeast first and use a thermometer to check milk temperature if unsure.
Dense, heavy crumb: Either the dough was under-kneaded, or the rises were cut short. Enriched doughs need time. If the kitchen is cold, the first rise can take 2-3 hours rather than the usual 1-1.5.
Eggs fell out during baking: They were not secured firmly enough before the second rise. Cross two thin strips of dough over each egg and tuck the ends underneath the braid to anchor them properly.
Crust is dark but inside is still doughy: Cover loosely with foil for the last 10-15 minutes of baking and continue until the internal temperature reaches 88-92°C. Enriched breads brown quickly due to the sugar and eggs in the dough.
Variations
The base pane di Pasqua recipe is a canvas for regional and personal variations:
- Scarcella (Puglia style): Shaped into animals, people, or elaborate figures rather than a braid. A favourite for children at Easter. The dough is the same; only the shaping changes.
- With raisins and candied orange peel: Fold in a handful of raisins and some finely chopped candied orange peel during the final stage of kneading. The result is closer to a festive fruit bread.
- With chocolate chips: Add dark chocolate chips to the dough for a richer, more dessert-like version. Works especially well with the orange zest already in the recipe.
- Savoury version: Skip the sugar and vanilla, replace them with olive oil, dried herbs, and grated Pecorino or Parmesan. Press a raw egg in as normal. This savoury version is traditional in some parts of Calabria and Campania.
Storage and Make Ahead
Pane di Pasqua keeps well at room temperature for 3 to 4 days wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or stored in an airtight bag. The butter and egg content slows staling noticeably. Do not refrigerate it as the cold stales the crumb faster.
To freeze, cool completely, remove the decorative eggs (they do not freeze well), slice the bread, and wrap tightly. Keeps for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and warm in the oven at 160°C for 5-7 minutes.
For make-ahead preparation: complete the first rise, then punch down the dough, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, take it out, let it come to room temperature for about an hour, then shape, do the second rise (which will take longer from cold, about 1.5-2 hours), and bake as normal. The slow cold fermentation develops a noticeably better flavour.
Looking for more Easter baking? Try the Tsoureki Greek Easter Bread, the Easter Pie (Pasqualina), or browse all Easter recipes.
Italian Easter Bread (Pane di Pasqua)
Ingredients
- 118 ml 4 fl oz warm milk
- 50 g ¼ cup sugar
- 7 g 0.2 oz dry yeast
- 550 g 4 ⅓ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 110 ml 4 fl oz fresh orange juice
- ½ tablespoon of grated orange peel
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 60 g 2.1 oz of butter, melted and brought to room temperature
- ½ teaspoon of anise powder
For garnish:
- 4 red-dyed eggs
- 1 lightly beaten egg + 1 teaspoon of milk
Instructions
- In a bowl, add warm milk, sugar and yeast. Mix gently, cover with a plastic wrap and leave aside for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, add 300g of the total amount of flour, orange peel, beaten eggs, butter and anise. Stir well .
- Add the yeast mixture, the fresh orange juice – mix until incorporated.
- When you have kneaded a liquid dough, gradually add the remaining flour until a denser dough is formed.
- Transfer the dough to a table sprinkled with flour and knead it until it becomes elastic.
- Put the kneaded dough in a bowl well greased with oil, spread oil on the dough as well.
- Cover the dough bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place, with the windows closed, to rise and double in volume. Around two hours.
- After the dough has risen, form the loaves. Transfer the dough to a surface sprinkled with flour.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll out each piece into a 25-30 cm baguette.
- Take two pieces of stretched dough each, and twist them into a spiral. Then join the ends to get a coil.
- Transfer the obtained cakes to a baking tray lined with baking paper.
- Cover with a plastic wrap and let the dough rise once more.
- Heat the oven to 180C (360 ºF).
- After 30-40 minutes, when the loaves have risen, brush them with a mixture of butter and milk, sprinkle with colored ornaments or sesame seeds, put a red egg in the middle of each and put them in the oven. Leave them to bake for 15 minutes, until they turn golden brown.
- Take them out of the oven and transfer them to the grill to cool.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, fully. Raw eggs pressed into the dough before baking reach hard-boiled by the time the bread is done, since the oven temperature and baking time are more than sufficient to cook them through. The shells become part of the decoration and the eggs inside are safe to eat. Let the bread cool before eating the eggs, as they will be very hot straight from the oven.
Both are Italian Easter baked goods but they are quite different. Pane di Pasqua is a yeasted, braided bread enriched with eggs and butter, flavoured with citrus and vanilla, and shaped as a braid or crown. Colomba di Pasqua is a dove-shaped cake much closer to panettone in technique and texture: it uses a slow sourdough-style process, contains candied orange peel, and is topped with a crunchy almond and pearl sugar glaze. Colomba is more complex and time-consuming to make; pane di Pasqua is straightforward and achievable in an afternoon.
Yes. Plain white or brown eggs work fine and still look beautiful baked into the golden braid. If you want colour without dye, natural colouring works: beet juice for pink or red, turmeric for yellow, spinach juice for green. Dip the raw eggs, let them dry completely, then press them into the dough as normal.
Most likely it was overbaked. Enriched breads dry out quickly if left in the oven even a few minutes too long because of the sugar content. Use a thermometer and pull the bread at 88-92°C internal temperature rather than relying on colour alone. Also make sure you are storing it wrapped tightly at room temperature rather than uncovered, which dries the crumb out within hours.
