Lemon Easter Bread

Preparation

1. In large bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the granulated sugar, salt and yeast. Add warm milk, butter and lemon peel. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently. Add eggs; beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.
2. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead about 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Grease large bowl with shortening. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in warm place 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until dough has doubled in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
3. Grease large cookie sheet. Punch down dough. Divide dough into 2 pieces. On lightly floured surface, roll each piece into 26-inch-long rope. On cookie sheet, place ropes close together. Twist loosely; pinch ends together to form circle. Cover loosely with plastic wrap lightly sprayed with cooking spray; let rise in warm place until almost double in size, about 1 hour.
4. Heat oven to 350°F. Brush beaten egg white over bread. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cover with foil if it gets too brown after 15 minutes baking. Cool about 30 minutes.
5. In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until well blended; drizzle over bread using spoon. Top with sprinkles, if desired. Place colored eggs in center.

Tips

• Meyer lemons are slightly sweeter than regular lemons. If you can’t find a Meyer lemon, you can substitute regular lemon. If you like orange, you can substitute orange peel and juice in place of the lemon.
• You can refrigerate the dough up to 24 hours in step 2 before it rises; place in resealable food-storage plastic bag. When ready to continue, allow dough to rise in step 2 about 1 1/2 hours.

Nutrition Information