The easy and quick homemade colomba is a super soft and delicious Easter leavened bread, a great alternative to the classic colomba with different doughs and leavening but in an easier version and just as good! It stays soft for days if stored in a cellophane bag. The homemade quick colomba is easy to make, has only one dough, and I assure you that once you try it, you won’t leave it anymore! Now, up to the kitchen to knead!
If you love Easter-themed preparations, then also try:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 5 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 1 colomba
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter
Ingredients for the easy and quick homemade colomba
- 3 1/3 cups Manitoba flour
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 7/8 cups milk
- 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup butter
- 3 eggs (size XL)
- 1 lemon zest (grated)
- 1 packet dry yeast
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 1 egg white (from XL egg)
- 1.41 oz granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp sugar sprinkles
- 2 tbsp sliced almonds
Useful Tools
- Stand Mixer
- 2 Bowls
- Kitchen Scale
- Food Wrap
- Mold
- Spatula
- Brush
- Electric Beaters
- Pastry Board
Preparation of the easy and quick colomba
In the bowl of the stand mixer, pour the flours and the pinch of salt and mix quickly with the spatula, then add the sugar and the packet of yeast and again mix quickly with the spatula.
Now add the eggs, milk, and grated lemon zest to the powder mixture, set the dough hook, and start the stand mixer at speed 2 for 10 minutes, then turn off the mixer, cover the bowl with a cloth, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
After the rest, add the butter cut into small pieces to the mixer and start the stand mixer again at speed 2 for 10 minutes, then turn it off and with the help of a silicone spatula transfer the dough to the floured pastry board (it will be very soft, it is normal it should be like this).
Work the dough with your hands, giving it a ball shape and place it in a glass bowl covering it with film, put it in the turned-off and closed oven to rise until doubled (it will take about 3 hours).
Once the dough has doubled, put it back on the pastry board, divide it into two parts: 1/3 and 2/3, work the larger part by making folds and forming a long sausage, place it in the paper mold to form the body.
Divide the remaining dough into 2 equal parts, work each part with a round of folds and place them in the paper mold in place of the wings together with the central part, put it back in the closed and turned-off oven to rise again until doubled (it will take about 1/2 hours).
Once the colomba has doubled in volume, take it out of the oven and preheat it to 392°F, in the meantime, prepare the glaze by whipping the egg white with the sugar to stiff peaks with electric beaters;
Brush the entire glaze on the surface of the colomba, add the sliced almonds and sugar sprinkles and once the oven is hot, bake it in the middle part, cook for 60 minutes, check halfway through and if you see it coloring too much, cover for 10 minutes with a sheet of parchment paper, at the end of cooking, the colomba should be well golden on the surface.
Once the easy and quick colomba is cooked, turn off the oven and let it cool inside, once it is completely cool, all you have to do is enjoy your easy and quick homemade colomba and I assure you it is worth it!
Variations
If you like, you can add 50 g of dark, white, or milk chocolate chips to the dough in the last step.
Instead of lemon zest, you can use orange zest.
You can add 50 g of mixed candied fruits.
Instead of almonds in the glaze, you can add chopped and toasted hazelnuts.
