Saturday, March 20, 2010

Ciambellone - Italian Easter Bread - Pink Saturday



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I had some fun testing recipes for the Italian Easter Bread that's called Ciambellone. I'm not going to talk about the two recipes that failed, other than to say my evil eye is now trained on the developers and, once they recover, they'll get with the program and do a better job. I am happy to report that I did find a workable recipe. This link, Chef's Line , will take you to a pod cast that demonstrates exactly how Easter Bread is made. Ciambellone falls somewhere between a cake and bread on the culinary periodic table. It tastes like soft biscotti and that, of course, makes it perfect to serve with coffee or tea. It also requires no special equipment to make. Flour is piled onto an immaculately clean board and the remainder of the ingredients are added to a fist-made well and mixed into the flour using your equally immaculate fingers. It's then formed into rings and baked. I prefer to make one large ring and use a ring mold to enhance the appearance of the Ciambellone. The recipe appears below the next photo.

I also want to share a great recipe for Soft Sugar Cookies with you. It comes from Denise at Cottage Sisters. I stumbled on it while searching for the Italian Easter Bread. She was kind enough to share the recipe and photo with me so I could pass them on to you. I hope you'll take a look at her fabulous site.


Photo courtesy of Cottage Sisters


Ciambellone - Italian Easter Bread
...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Kitchen Guy at Chef's Line

Ingredients:

4 cups flour
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 egg for egg wash
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a large baking sheet or a 9-inch tube pan. Set aside.
2) Mound flour on a board. Create a well in center of mound. Using your fingers, begin alternating liquid and other dry ingredients into well, mixing until all ingredients are combined. Knead, adding additional flour if needed, to form a smooth dough.
3) Divide into one or two parts and shape into fat rings. Beat additional egg with a teaspoon of water. Brush top of ring with egg wash. Place on baking sheet or into tube pan. Bake 40 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Yield: 1 or 2 coils.

You might also enjoy these recipes:

Lemon Tea Cookies - One Perfect Bite

Chinese-Style Almond Cookies - One Perfect Bite
Kona Coffee Cookies - One Perfect Bite

This post is being linked to:
Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.

49 comments :

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Mary, this looks so lovely and fresh! Have a nice weekend.

Regina said...

Happy Pink Saturday Mary.
This is truly lovely and tempting.
Thank you for sharing.

Ana Powell said...

Wishing you a lovely Pink Saturday.
A lovely suggestion x

DailyChef said...

Oh this looks too good! Always look forward to your festive recipes.

MaryMoh said...

That's a beautiful loaf of bread...love the shape. The pink frosting make sit look romantic :P

Deb in Hawaii said...

Both the bread and the cookies look amazing. You are baking up a storm. ;-)

Sinful Southern Sweets said...

Both are just amazing! I've had a few Easter Bread tragedies myself, but I may have to dust myself off and give this a try!

Allie and Pattie said...

Mary, my Nonna used to make a very similar type bread to have with breakfast, though she had a different name for it. I love the looks of this one and will try it this week. My 4th son LOVES soft sugar cookies and proclaims them "his" when I make them as he doesn't eat anything fancier! LOL
xoxo Pattie

Martha said...

It looks lovely -- I've had Greek Easter breads but never anything Ialian and it looks so easy to make. Of course, for Good Friday tea and Easter Saturday breakfast hot cross buns are a must!

Happy Pink Saturday!

T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...

I am always intriqued by the different Easter Breads that begin to appear this time of year. Hopefully, this season I will be able to give one a try.

Angie's Recipes said...

I am a huge fan of all kinds of bread. Ciambellone would make a perfect breakfast!

Inspired by eRecipeCards said...

Bread... such a soul affirming food.

And this may be the first time I have seen you recommend a site on your blog... heading there now, highly recommended indeed

PeggyR said...

Those look and sound delicious!

Bob said...

That looks so good. Wish I had some for breakfast!

Joanne said...

My grandmother always used to make Italian easter bread. It was something that I looked forward to all year! She would sprinkle the top with cinnamon and we would freeze some of it and have it for breakfast for months afterward. She would be so happy if I made this for her! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Rachel said...

Both are new to me and they have are so worth a try!

♥ Kathy said...

You always put me in the mood to bake :) Happy Saturday!

Kristen said...

I must get with the program and start investigating traditional foods that go with different holidays. The only Easter bread that I have heard of is the one with the eggs baked in it. This one looks wonderful. Thank you again for enlightening me.

Lori said...

Thanks for making me aware of this bread. Sounds so good.

Anonymous said...

The bread is beautiful & looks like a yeast bread - must try it soon. I can't get the link to the cookies to work.
Martha in KS

Unknown said...

years ago I read a novel that included a recipe after each chapter or so. Ciambellone was one of the recipes. I had no idea what it was or how it was suppose to turn out....but I tried it and messed up miserably. I think this is the first time I've seen what it's suppose to look like LOL...so i think it's time to try it again :) It looks so good

Mary Bergfeld said...

Martha, the link has been repaired. Thanks for letting me know. Mary

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Mary, your cookies look so pretty and so good! Very lovely post and tempting too. Happy Pink Saturday and Happy first day of Spring.

Blessings,
Sandi

Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble Christmas said...

I just have to ask if you ever heard of Italian Easter Pizza with ham and eggs!! My friend's mom makes it and I LOVE it!
Debbie

Ginny said...

Oh yes, I am going to make this bread for Easter! I have a lot of Polish traditions, but not Italian, for Easter. Thanks!

NKP said...

Looks so soft and delicious. I had never heard of it before.

CC said...

As always mary, everything looks so tempting and wonderful...and again as always, I love your writing and the histories of the dishes and foods you make. I love coming to visit you. Happy Pinks..have a lovely weekend.

Carla and Michael said...

The bread looks so light and fluffy. This is one I had to google. I didn't realise that it could be sweet or savory. You are so full of great info. Keep it up. We are all learning a great deal from your posts. Thanks and Happy Week End.

Susie Jefferson said...

As always - moutwateringly pretty - or is it prettily mouthwatering... either way, how gorgeous.

Happy Pink Saturday!

Unknown said...

Happy Pink Saturday!!!

Hugs
Charo

The Domestic Adventurer said...

Thanks for visiting my blog. Yours is fabulous. I love your photos.

The cake and cookies look perfect for the first weekend of spring.

Dana Fallentine said...

Perfect timing! I was looking for great spring recipe's!

Kim said...

The ciambellone looks wonderful, perfect for coffee or tea.
I'm drooling over the sugar cookies, especially that pink frosting. Going over to check out her site now.

Martha said...

What a perfect pink Saturday! :-)

Maggie said...

I might get crazy and make the soft sugar cookies tomorrow- I love it when the cookies are soft like that!

Sorry to visit so late, but glad I could enjoy your pinks!

Happy PS!

In Shoes we Trust,
Maggie Mae
"Do these shoes match this purse?"

sophia said...

Yummmm~ I like that it doesn't have yeast, as I'm kinda impatient having to wait hours for the bread to rise. ;)

Ă€ LA GRAHAM said...

That cookie looks so good. As for the Italian Easter bread...I've never heard of or ate so I am
intrigued...thanks for sharing!

3 hungry tummies said...

Oh I'll have enough time to pratice before Easter! Thank you!

Claudia said...

looks delicious!!! makes me hungry

Nadji said...

Un pain magnifique et très bien réussi.
Bon dimanche.

Hootin Anni said...

Everything looks so yummy. Soft sugar cookies, huh? Oh my, what a treat. And the Ciambellone...I'm just more curious as to how to pronounce it....is it CHOW-belonie?

Hope your weekend has been swell so far.

Mari said...

HELLO MARY, THESE LOOK SOOOOOOOO YUUUUMMMMMYYYYY!!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh my ... either (and/or BOTH) would go very well with my tea about now ;-)
Happy Belated Pink Saturday!
Hugs and blessings,

The Chef In My Head said...

Oh Mary, Bread!!! Maybe God doesn't want me to learn how to bake bread. He knows I would be as big as a house.
This looks beautiful and the cookies are so simple and pretty. I love them. Thank you, your attention to detail is always so impressive!! Happy Sunday~LeslieMichele

Beverly said...

I've never heard of this bread, but I'm sure I would love it with my cup of coffee.

Happy Pink Saturday, Mary.

Katy ~ said...

Hope you had a happy pink Saturday for surely these would make me happy.

Anna said...

Ciao Mary!

I learned all about Ciambellone in Rome and yesterday, made a Ciambellone Bicolore. I'm about to post it, but I think it's funny you and I were both baking this same European cake.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Mary for featuring my cookies on your lovely blog......I really appreciate it! Denise xoxo

Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine said...

Very nice with the lemon, my grandma always used anise, what region in Italy are your folks from , my family was from Rome and Bari.. some of your recipes remind me of hersm glad to meet you and thanks for visiting my blog today :) claudia http://pegasuslegend-whatscookin.blogspot.com/

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