Easter bread dolls

The recipes I love to share the most are those that are innovative and unusual, and as I enjoy playing “Food Detective”, I often find them by scouring the internet.  Whilst researching Easter food rituals I came across this recipe, which was just so charming, I couldn’t resist passing it on to the readers of Mrs Nightingale's Secret Speakeasy & Cotswold Style.

Easter bread dolls are an Eastern European tradition, specifically from Croatia.  Known as Primorski Uskrsne Bebe, these cute Easter “babies” are made with sweetened dough, and wrapped around coloured hard-boiled eggs.

If you don’t mind the kitchen getting a bit messy, and are not in pursuit of aesthetic perfection, then get the kids involved.  They will love colouring the eggs and painting their faces and it will keep them busy for an afternoon in the Easter holidays.

Ingredients:

240 ml milk

½ pack active yeast

1 large beaten egg

55g sugar

55g butter

½ teaspoon salt

450g plain flour

6 hard boiled eggs, dyed

1 more egg, for the egg wash

To dye eggs:

Mix 1 teaspoon of vinegar and 20 drops of food coloring in 1 cup of hot water in a bowl or jar. Submerge the egg completely.

Method:

Hard boil the eggs, and then dye as per instructions. Put to one side.

Heat milk until scalded, allowing to cool until tepid.  Add the yeast and set aside.

In a large bowl combine eggs, sugar, butter and salt, mixing well.  Add the yeast-milk mixture and half the flour and beat well.  Add remaining flour gradually, until a smooth, soft dough is formed.

Place dough in a greased bowl. Allow to rise, covered, until doubled in size.  Punch down, turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes.

Divide dough into 18 equal pieces (divide dough into 3 pieces, then each into 3 pieces again, then each into 2 pieces).  Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Heat oven to 190 C.  Using 3 pieces per doll, roll into 3 (12-inch) ropes. Make a T shape using 2 ropes for the top of the T and 1 for the downstroke.  Put a cooked coloured egg on the join of the ropes, with the central rope behind the egg.  Then start plaiting, initially wrapping around the egg, creating a hood for the doll’s face.

Pull the left strip over and down under the right side of the egg, and the right strip over and down under the left side of the egg.  It doesn’t really matter how you do it, as long as the “face” of the egg peeps through.  Plait the remainder of the rope below the egg, and pinch the ends together.

Place doll on a lined baking tray, and repeat the process with remainder of the dough balls.  Cover with cling film and allow to rise a little.  Egg-wash the dolls with 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Use a marker pen to paint faces on the dolls when cooled.

Makes 6 Easter Bread Dolls.