The easy and quick homemade colomba is a super soft and delicious Easter bread, an excellent alternative to the classic colomba made with various doughs and leavenings, but in an easier and equally good version! It stays soft for days if stored in a cellophane bag. The quick homemade colomba is easy to make, has a single dough, and I assure you that once tried, you will never leave it again! Now, up in the kitchen to knead!
If you love Easter-themed preparations, then also try:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- 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 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup milk
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup butter
- 3 eggs (XL size)
- 1 lemon zest (grated)
- 1 packet dry yeast
- 1 pinch fine salt
- 1 egg white (from XL size egg)
- 1.4 oz granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons sugar crystals
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Useful tools
- Stand Mixer
- 2 Bowls
- Kitchen Scale
- Plastic Wrap
- Mold
- Spatula
- Brush
- Electric Whisks
- 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 powdered mixture, attach the kneading hook, and turn on 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 pieces to the mixer and turn it on again at speed 2 for 10 minutes, then turn off and with the help of a silicone spatula, transfer the dough to the floured pastry board (it will be very soft, this is normal, it must be like this).
Work the dough with your hands to form a ball and place it in a glass bowl, covering it with plastic wrap, put it in the turned-off and closed oven to rise until it doubles (it will take about 3 hours).
Once the dough has doubled, place it back on the pastry board, divide it into two parts: 1/3 and 2/3, work the larger part 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 again 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 let it heat up to 390°F, meanwhile prepare the glaze by whipping the egg white with the sugar to stiff peaks with the electric whisks;
Brush all the glaze on the surface of the colomba, add the sliced almonds and sugar crystals, and once the oven is hot, bake in the middle part, cook for 60 minutes, check halfway through and if you see it browns 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, you just have to enjoy your easy and quick homemade colomba, and I assure you it’s worth it!
Variations
If you like, you can add 1.8 oz 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 1.8 oz of mixed candied fruits.
Instead of almonds in the glaze, you can add chopped and toasted hazelnuts.
