Romagnola Easter Loaf: the festive breakfast in Romagna!
If there’s a ritual that brings Romagnola families together on Easter morning, it’s bringing the Easter Loaf to the table.
It’s not a simple sweet, but a rich and fragrant bread that, according to tradition, accompanies the entire festive breakfast together with the local salami and the blessed hard-boiled eggs.
It is a leavened bread with an ancient character, less “fiddled with” than modern pastries, capable of preserving all the charm of traditional cooking.
The original recipe for the Easter Loaf is not overly sweet; however, long-fermented doughs often tend to “mute” flavors a little; for this reason, in my version I chose to increase the sugar by 40 grams.
This small adjustment helps to better highlight the fragrance of the dough without changing it drastically.
If, however, you are a purist of tradition and love that unique contrast between the barely hinted sweetness and the salty salami, you can safely keep the classic amounts provided by the Romagna specification.
As happens with every respectable regional recipe, every area of Romagna (and every family!) has its secret.
Some add raisins, others prefer citrus or anise aromatics.
There are also different schools of thought about the baking technique.
To ensure a flawless result, I prefer to bake the loaves inside a high-sided pan: this trick helps the loaf grow upward without spreading too much during the final proof.
Of course, if you prefer a more rustic and free shape, you can bake them directly on a baking sheet and let them take their natural form.
Don’t be fooled by the small amounts of yeast: this Loaf can become “giant”!
Patience is the main ingredient; with the right resting times, you’ll get a soft, airy and very fragrant loaf.
It’s a recipe that gives great satisfaction and that will make you shine on Easter day.
Just roll up your sleeves, follow my steps and prepare this piece of Romagnola history.
I’m curious to know if you’ll enjoy it “pure” or if you’ll dare the traditional pairing with salami!
Approx 2570 kcal per loaf
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 5 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking time: 50 Minutes
- Portions: 2 loaves
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian regional
- Region: Emilia-Romagna
- Seasonality: Easter
Ingredients to make the Romagnola Easter Loaf
For the pre-ferment (lievitino)
- 1 cup 330W flour or Manitoba flour
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh yeast
- 2 1/2 cups Manitoba flour
- 4 cups Type 0 flour
- 3 medium eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 3/4 cup whole milk (about 200 ml)
- 1/3 cup water (about 100 ml)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 1/2 tbsp lard
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/3 cups sultana raisins
- 1 tbsp anise liqueur
- dough from the pre-ferment (lievitino)
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 tbsp milk
- white sugar sprinkles
Tools
- 1 Pan
Preparation of the Romagnola Easter Loaf
The evening before, prepare the pre-ferment (lievitino): put the water and the dry brewer’s yeast, let it dissolve, then add the flour, mix well and leave to ferment covered in a closed place overnight for 10-12 hours.
The next morning, first soak the raisins in water and leave them for at least half an hour.
Start the dough by placing the Manitoba flour, sugar, warm water and milk in the stand mixer and mix a little.
Next add the warm milk, the anise liqueur and mix, adding one egg at a time and the yolk.
Finally add the pre-ferment (lievitino) and mix well, then add the softened lard, the salt, the Type 0 flour and let the dough work for a few minutes.
If you don’t have a stand mixer you can still make the dough by hand with a little elbow grease and it will turn out well.
Once the dough has been worked, rinse and drain the raisins well, add them to the dough and knead just long enough to incorporate them evenly.
Transfer the dough to a large container greased with lard or butter and leave to rise for about 3 hours or until doubled, in the oven with the light on.
After the rising time, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, divide it into two equal parts….
….making folds from each side towards the center, repeating this operation at least 3 times.
Transfer the formed dough into two high-sided pans about 10.25 in diameter, or into two baking sheets.
Score the surface lightly with a knife and leave to rise for about 2 hours or until doubled.
Once risen, prepare a mixture of yolk and milk and brush it on the surface of the loaves, then sprinkle with white sugar sprinkles and bake in a preheated oven at 356°F for about 50 minutes.
If it browns too much on the surface during baking, place a sheet of foil over the loaf.
Once baking is complete, remove from the oven and let cool at least a little before serving.
