Italian Anise Easter Bread
Making this bread every Easter has been a tradition for my family. We have never figured out how to make it in smaller quantities or an easier way. It is worth the work at least once a year. Great sliced and toasted with butter for breakfast or just plain. This makes 5 loaves.
| 12 | eggs |
| 2 1/2 | cups sugar |
| 1/2 | cup melted butter |
| 1/2 | cup Crisco |
| 1/2 | cup oil |
| 1/2 | cup milk |
| 3 | teaspoons vanilla |
| 1 | cup warm water |
| 3 (1/4 | ounce) envelopes yeast |
| 16-20 | cups flour (almost 5 lbs.) |
| 2 | tablespoons anise seeds |
- In mixer bowl beat eggs. Add sugar, butter, crisco, oil, milk, and vanilla.
- Dissolve yeast in the warm water. Add to egg mixture. Add anise.
- Add flour one cup at a time until mixture is unmanageable. Transfer into LARGE pan (Dishpan works well.) and work in remaining flour, kneading with hands.
- Knead until you are too tired to knead any more (half hour?) and then oil top of dough ball, cover, and let rise in warm place 6 hours or overnight.
- Grease 5 loaf pans. Separate dough into 5 parts and knead each again. Cover with towels and let rise in warm place another couple of hours.
- Bake 1 hour at 275 degrees. Do not underbake or they will be hard as a rock. (Top should be lightly browned.).
