Easy Easter Colomba with baker’s yeast, very soft.
The colomba is the traditional Easter cake, airy and light covered with a wonderful and indulgent almond glaze.
This Easy Easter Colomba with baker’s yeast (no sourdough or liquid starter) is a recipe within everyone’s reach, even for beginners because I explain every step step by step—you can’t go wrong… it’s flop-proof.
This homemade Easter colomba is: soft, light and easily digestible (only 17 g of fresh yeast).
Preparation of the Easter colomba must be started the evening before!
If you want to enrich your Easter menu with other recipes (sweet and/or savory), I recommend checking my “Special Easter Menu”.
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- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 15 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 12
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Easter, Spring
Ingredients for the dough of the easy Easter colomba with baker’s yeast:
- 4 cups + 1 tbsp cup All-purpose flour (00) (1/2 cup + 1 cup + 1 cup + 1 2/3 cup)
- 1/2 cup Milk ((approx. 125 ml))
- 2 1/4 tsp Fresh baker's yeast ((about 17 g; ~2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast equivalent))
- 3/4 cup Butter (2 tbsp + 2/3 cup (soft))
- 1 1/2 tsp Fine salt
- 3/4 cup Sugar (2 tbsp + 1/2 cup)
- 4 Egg yolks
- 4 Whole eggs
- 1 packet Vanillin (vanilla powder)
- 2 Orange zest (zest of 2 oranges)
- 3.5 oz Candied fruit (optional, or chocolate chips)
- 3.5 oz Raisins (soaked in warm water)
- 2 tbsp Water
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp cup Sugar (for the glaze (approx. 220 g))
- 1/2 cup Peeled almonds (chopped or almond flour)
- 2 tbsp Bitter (armelline) almonds (chopped, optional)
- 1/4 cup Hazelnuts (chopped)
- 1 tbsp Pine nuts (chopped)
- 2 Egg whites
- as needed Almonds (whole, shelled, for decorating)
- as needed Pearl (coarse) sugar (for decorating)
- as needed Vanilla powdered sugar (for decorating)
Tools for the Easy Easter colomba with baker’s yeast:
- Kitchen scale
- Mixing bowls various sizes
- Stand mixer kenwood 1200 W power with double bowl
- Mold disposable colomba mold
- Brushes kitchen, multipurpose
- Thermometer kitchen
Preparation for the dough of the easy Easter colomba with baker’s yeast
Start preparing the colomba the evening before.
First dough: in the stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix 1/2 cup of flour with the fresh yeast and the lukewarm milk until you get a soft dough.
Let the dough rise for 20 minutes.
Second dough: add to the risen dough 1 cup of flour with a little lukewarm water (about 2 tbsp), knead and let this dough rise for 30 minutes.
Third dough: add to the previous dough 1 cup of flour, 2 tbsp soft butter, and 2 tbsp sugar; work until the dough becomes smooth and elastic and let it rise for another hour.
Fourth dough: finally, add to the previous dough: 1 2/3 cups of flour, 2/3 cup soft butter, 1/2 cup sugar, salt, vanillin, orange zest, the 4 egg yolks (one at a time), mix and then add the 4 whole eggs one at a time and mix for another 10 minutes, changing from the paddle to the dough hook; finally add the candied fruit (or chocolate chips) and the drained raisins (optional).
Let this dough rest all night and, in any case, not less than 8 hours. After at least 8 hours, take the dough back and work it for a few more minutes.
Take a typical colomba mold and shape the dough into it.
Let it rise for 6 hours.
Meanwhile, prepare the almond glaze: mix well the nut powder with the 1 cup + 2 tbsp of sugar and the egg whites.
At half the rising time, gently spread the almond glaze over the colomba and garnish with pearl sugar and whole almonds (with skin).
Bake in a preheated oven at 356°F for about 30 minutes (if you have a thermometer, the colomba is done when it reaches 194°F in the center).
Notes and Tips
The almond glaze can be prepared a few days in advance.
If you cannot find bitter (armelline) almonds, replace them with 5 g of pine nuts or hazelnuts.
If you prefer, you can also try this other Glaze: 100 g of marzipan (almond paste), 1 egg, 1 packet of vanillin; mix well and then sprinkle the surface with pearl sugar and peeled whole almonds.
The recipe is from Cucinamica, photos were taken by me during the cooking course.
Shopping Tips!!!
To knead perfectly I use my Titanium Chef Patissier XL stand mixer with illuminated bowl, 7L, built-in scale and blender, 1400 W, a faithful kitchen ally for kneading, weighing, whipping, blending and pasteurizing eggs.
If instead you are looking for a more economical and smaller stand mixer, you can safely choose to buy the excellent Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker XL, 1200W, 5L bowl with built-in scale.
I used a disposable paper colomba mold, made of strong pure cellulose.
You can buy all the items I recommend above on Amazon at great prices, just click directly on the relevant links.
History and origins of the Easter Colomba
It seems the Colomba dates back to 570 AD, in the Lombard era, when the barbarian king Alboin managed to conquer the city of Pavia after 3 years of siege and received from the local population a sweet bread shaped like a dove, as a sign of peace.
How to store the Easter Colomba?
The colomba made with baker’s yeast keeps covered with plastic wrap for 2-3 days at room temperature. If made with sourdough starter it keeps longer at room temperature, about 4-5 days.
