Greek Easter Bread

Saturday night I took the train out to my parent's house. My brother is on spring break from college and our family decided to host Easter. It was a small crowd, mainly just my mother's side of the family. (Her two brothers and their families, my grandmother, and also John and his mother joined us.)

I woke horribly early on Sunday morning to begin the onion tart and the Greek Easter bread that I was contributing. In addition we served a fruit salad, a garden salad, ham, a broccoli and cheese casserole, mashed potatoes, and olives. And for dessert Lynn brought a key lime pie, Dave baked a delicious lime cheesecake, and Carol made one of her fabulous apple pies.

I used the onion tart recipe from Molly at Orangette which I had tried before and was very pleased with. For the Greek Easter bread I used a recipe from Alberto of Il Forno. It turned out great. (Well, the loaf on the right at least. I made the dough for the loaf on the left first and panicked when it did not appear to be rising. I made the second loaf just in case and it ended up being quite superior. It was much more airy and light.)

I decided to opt for the red eggs as the pictures I saw of this traditional color were stunning. However, the color didn't hold well and I ended up with pink eggs nestled in a ring of red-dyed bread.

The bread had a glorious crust, a wonderful aroma, and a buttery, sweet, and delicate crumb. I will definitely make this bread again. I bet the recipe would be divine if I made small rolls stuffed with a bit of gruyere or a pat of dark chocolate.