Spring is my favorite season of the year! I love observing the nature bursting into life with vibrant colors and how remarkably the scenery changes. Grass becomes green and lush, leaves start to sprout, tulips, daffodils bloom, and it finally warms up. So beautiful!
With all these changes my favorite holiday comes to mind. Easter. A holiday of life, love, and hope. This holiday is a personal one and means a lot to me. My Savior died to save me and was risen, gifting my internal life.
Traditionally, we cook and bake lots of goods to celebrate this special holiday. After a heartfelt church service, we love to enjoy a festive lunch with our family to celebrate and praise the Lord. This Sweet Braided Easter Bread with Raisins is one of the items we make for Easter.
It isn’t difficult to make but is very much loved. In fact, your Kitchen Aid mixer does most of the work for you. I love yellow raisins very much so I load the bread with two cups of it, but you may reduce that to one cup or use poppy seed instead if you don’t like raisins.
The bread itself is very soft, moist and sweet, the raisins add a nice touch of sour to it which adds a bit of a varied taste. We all absolutely love to enjoy this bread with a little butter spread and a hot cup of tea or coffee. Yes, God is great! Happy Spring and Easter to all!
Ingredients you will need:
1 ½ cup – warm milk
1 tbsp. – active dry yeast
1 ¼ cup – granulated sugar
4 eggs – room temperature
1 stick – unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
½ tsp. – salt
1 tsp. – vanilla extract
6 cups – all-purpose flour
2 cups – yellow raisins
1 egg and 1 tbsp. milk for egg glaze
Instructions:
1. Place 2 cups of raisins into a bowl. Pour boiling water until the water covers the raisins. Let it soak for 15 minutes. Then drain the water and rinse the raisins. Set aside until ready for use.
2. Heat milk in a small saucepan to just barely warm over a stove top burner on high temp (for about a minute). Transfer the milk into a small glass bowl. Add ¼ cup of sugar and stir well until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Sprinkle yeast over milk, stir it in, and set it aside in a warm place to proof for 15 minutes.
4. Melt butter in a cup for 30 seconds, and set it aside to cool.
5. In the electric mixer bowl, beat eggs and 1 cup of sugar on high, for 10 minutes.
6. Reduce speed to low and mix in the yeast mixture.
7. Continue mixing on low while adding salt and vanilla extract.
8. Add melted butter, continue to mix.
9. Add raisins. Switch to dough hook attachment. Sift flour and add 1 cup at a time until all 6 cups of flour are incorporated. (It takes about 15 minutes for the dough to form well.) Transfer the dough onto a working surface (large cutting board) dusted with flour.
10. Coat the dough with flour. Place it into a large bowl dusted with a little more flour and let it rise in a warm environment for 2 hours.
11. After the dough has tripled in size, transfer it from the bowl back to your floured working surface (cutting board) and roll it into a thick log. Split the log into two equal pieces.
12. Take one half of the dough and roll into a log again. Split it into four equal pieces.
13. Roll each of the four smaller pieces into thin, long logs (about 1.5 foot long and 1 inch thick).
14. Pinch the ends of all four thin logs together.
15. Braid them into a nice and even braid.
16. Pinch the opposite end of the braided loaf together, then place on a greased pan. Make the egg glaze and rub it over the top of the loaf. Repeat the same steps with the other half of the dough. Let the braided loaves rise in a warm place for another 45 minutes to an hour. It will expand nicely and close the gaps.
17. Heat the oven to 350 F. Bake each loaf separately for 25 minutes. (The loaf and the pan are too large to fit both into one oven. If you have double ovens, as I do, bake them one in each oven, at the same time.) Remove from the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan. I like to line the pans with parchment paper for baking; it’s easier to remove the bread from the paper than the pans. After they’re finished baking, the egg glaze runs down the loaf and gets stuck to the pan pretty firmly. Parchment paper goes a long way to alleviate that headache.
Lastly, it’s now time to enjoy the delicious bread with a little butter spread and some tea or a cup of coffee!
- 1 ½ cup – warm milk
- 1 tbsp. – active dry yeast
- 1 ¼ cup – granulated sugar
- 4 eggs – room temperature
- 1 stick – unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ½ tsp. – salt
- 1 tsp. – vanilla extract
- 6 cups – all-purpose flour
- 2 cups – yellow raisins
- 1 egg and 1 tbsp. milk for egg glaze
- Place 2 cups of raisins into a bowl. Pour boiling water until the water covers the raisins. Let it soak for 15 minutes. Then drain the water and rinse the raisins. Set aside until ready for use.
- Heat milk in a small saucepan to just barely warm over a stove top burner on high temp (for about a minute). Transfer the milk into a small glass bowl. Add ¼ cup of sugar and stir well until the sugar is dissolved.
- Sprinkle yeast over milk, stir it in, and set it aside in a warm place to proof for 15 minutes.
- Melt butter in a cup for 30 seconds, and set it aside to cool.
- In the electric mixer bowl, beat eggs and 1 cup of sugar on high, for 10 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low and mix in the yeast mixture.
- Continue mixing on low while adding salt and vanilla extract.
- Add melted butter, continue to mix.
- Add raisins. Switch to dough hook attachment. Sift flour and add 1 cup at a time until all 6 cups of flour are incorporated. (It akes about 15 minutes for the dough to form well.) Transfer the dough onto a working surface (large cutting board) dusted with flour.
- Coat the dough with flour. Place it into a large bowl dusted with a little more flour and let it rise in a warm environment for 2 hours.
- After the dough has tripled in size, transfer it from the bowl back to your floured working surface (cutting board) and roll it into a thick log. Split the log into two equal pieces.
- Take <g class="gr_ gr_225 gr-alert gr_spell gr_run_anim gr_inline_cards ContextualSpelling multiReplace" id="225" data-gr-id="225">one half</g> of the dough and roll into a log again. Split it into four equal pieces.
- Roll each of the four smaller pieces into thin, long <g class="gr_ gr_227 gr-alert gr_spell gr_run_anim gr_inline_cards ContextualSpelling" id="227" data-gr-id="227">logs</g> (about 1.5 foot long and 1 inch thick).
- Pinch the ends of all four thin <g class="gr_ gr_216 gr-alert gr_spell gr_run_anim gr_inline_cards ContextualSpelling" id="216" data-gr-id="216">logs</g> together.
- Braid them into a nice and even braid.
- Pinch the opposite end of the braided loaf together, then place on a greased pan. Make the egg glaze and rub it over the top of the loaf. Repeat the same steps with the other half of the dough. Let the braided loaves rise in a warm place for another 45 minutes to an hour. It will expand nicely and close the gaps.
- Heat the oven to 350 F. Bake each loaf separately for 25 minutes. (The loaf and the pan are too large to fit both into one oven. If you have double ovens, as I do, bake them one in each oven, at the same time.) Remove from the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan. I like to line the pans with parchment paper for baking; it's easier to remove the bread from the paper than the pans. After they're finished baking, the egg glaze runs down the loaf and gets stuck to the pan pretty firmly. Parchment paper goes a long way to alleviate that headache.
- Lastly, it's now time to enjoy the delicious bread with a little butter spread and some tea or a cup of coffee!
If you make this Sweet Braided Easter Bread with Raisins recipe please share a picture with me on Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. Tag with #valyastasteofhome. I’d love to see your creations! 🙂
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This looks absolutely beautiful and delicious! Thanks for sharing this gorgeous sweetness! Have a very happy spring!!
Thank you Nina! Same to you! 🙂
My mom made Easter Bread every year. It’s also an Italian custom. But instead of the vanilla flavoring, she always used Anise flavor. It was very good a
Perhaps because it was our custom..
Thank you soo much for sharing I really enjoy eating this Easter bread and I did not have a recipe and now I do may GOD BLESS YOU !!:)) amen and Easter is soo important to us Belivers because our SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST conquered death has Victory over sin and can give us strenght and victory to over come the world and be Holy and Godly children !!:))May the LORD Bless your family !!:))
You are very welcome Svetlana! I think you will enjoy it as much as we all do! Gods Blessings to you too! Have a blessed Easter! 🙂
Yes you can make it without the raisens. You just don’t put them in, case closed. The bread just tastes like flavored bread. My grandma, would make an extra batch of ” Easter bread” and turn the dough into la little girl for me and a little boy for my brother. My brother and I looked forward to those Bread dolls every Easter morning with breakfast baked ham.
Can I make this without the raisins?
Absolutely! You don’t have to add anything. I love adding things for extra flavor. Thanks Jennifer! 🙂
Ok great!
I know it might be a stupid question but with baking and moisture sometimes you never know. Thank you for a fast reply And the wonderful recipe! 🙂
You are very welcome! 🙂
I love Easter bread! You make the recipe look so simple 🙂
Thank you Katy 😉
This is a work of art! Love the golden raisins and alll your step by step photos 🙂
Thank you so much! 🙂
This bread is absolutely gorgeous! I love the addition of raisins. So perfect for Easter!
Thank you Gayle. It’s very tasty too. 🙂
Very gorgeous and tasty looking bread! Thank you for the recipe, I am looking forward to making this.
Thank you Tanya! Let me know how it turns out for you.
OMG this reminds me of my mom! Thanks for sharing this! God bless you!
You are very welcome! You too! 😉
Looks gorgeous Valya! Love Easter bread and make it in a very similar way 🙂 Pinned:)
Thank you for pinning Mira, it is always appreciated 🙂
I love Easter too Valya. I know without Christmas we wouldn’t have Easter, but Easter is by far, the most important. I also love that we set aside this time of year to prepare for the celebration and to meditate on what Jesus did for us. He gave everything so that we could have everything that matters. Your bread looks fantastic and would be a lovely part of any celebration!
I totally agree with you Chris. Thank you for your comment and have a blessed Easter 🙂
I LOVE Easter raisin bread! Never tried making it myself though…. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Homemade is the best. Enjoy! 🙂
Just made this bread and it is wonderful!!! Have tried several recipes trying to replicate my grandmas Easter bread I remember as a kid and this it!! Easy directions to follow and absolutely delicious! Thank you!
That’s awesome! I’m so happy to hear that! I’m glad the instructions were easy to follow. We are making this bread tomorrow. Thank you very much for your feedback, you can share a picture with me if don’t mind. Thank you Andrea 🙂
I’d be happy to share a photo- let me know what would be a good email to send it to. Thanks!
You can share it on Facebook or Intagram, hash tag it #valyastasteofhome. You may send it to me by mail as well valyastasteofhome@mail.com
Thank you so much for a beautiful step by step tutorial and a delicious recipe for sweet Easter bread. I looked for weeks and was very selective in choosing what recipe I planned on using this Easter but when I saw yours I went no further! Wonderful!! Thank you and God bless you!
Aww… How sweet! Thank you! I hope you like the bread as much as we do 🙂
Bright and beautiful!
Thank you very much Annie. I love all the bright Easter/Spring colors. 🙂
This bread looks so good and absolutely beautiful! I just wanna eat the screen!
Thank you very much Nancy! It is truly delicious!
I made this bread twice already. You get beautiful 2 BIG Loaves. I personally like this better than the traditional kulich because it is easier to slice. Anyway, I omitted the raisins, and had to use 8 cups of flour because at 6 cups, the dough was way too wet. I used the Costco bread flour if anybody wants to know. The second time I made the bread, I decided to do half butter half margarine (recipe calls for 1 stick of butter). Let me tell you, it was soo fluffy, soft, and just delicious. Great recipe!! Thank you and Happy Easter!! Христос Воскрес!!
That’s awesome! I’m glad to hear that it turned out good for you, and thank you very much for making my recipes. I’ll be making it again for this coming up Easter, so I’ll double check on the amount of flour. Thank you for amazing review! Happy Easter to you as well!
Can you make smaller loaves . I want to give them out. Thank you Diane
Hello Diane! Absolutely! Split the dough into 3 or 4 pieces and then make braids out of each piece. Love that idea!
The instruction says 4 eggs but picture shows 5? What is the correct amount? Thank you!
Hi, Jessica. Entire recipe calls for 5 eggs. 4 eggs for the dough and 1 additional egg for brushing the braids. I hope this clarifies a little bit more.
could you ad cardamen seed to this recipe? soul it hurt this lovely recipe thank you ?
Hi Shirley! You sure can if you like the spiciness in the bread. It should not change the texture of it. Enjoy! 🙂
I just made this today for Easter and it was absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for an amazing review! ?
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to make it this year. Would you recommend using regular granulated white sugar or organic sugar?
Either one will work. Happy Easter!
I just made and was wondering the best way to store until tomorrow?
Thanks
Once cooled completely you can store it in a container with a lid (if you have a large enough container). Otherwise, you can wrap it with the plastic food wrap to prevent softness and freshness. Thank you for making my recipe! 🙂
Yeah…that’s Challah. Cultural appropriation at its finest I suppose.
Thank you! 🙂