Grandmother Demanes Easter Bread Dough
From linda2230 15 years ago
- 18 minutes to make
- Serves 25
This recipe was given to me by my cousin, Kim. Kim's dad was Jimrug1 and my mother's brother. Grandmother prepared this bread every Easter and it is delicious. The texture of the bread dough is very firm, and bakes to the texture similar to a pretzle; however, it is not chewy like a pretzle. Read more The glaze is not a thick glaze but adds a nice sweetness to the bread. It is hard to eat just one for sure. The leftover baked breads can be frozen and will reheat nicely in the microwave on a reheat setting, just use your judgement depending on the size of your breads. I made these as part of my Easter dinner and is one of the illustrations shown within my Roma Stuffed tomatoes recipe. See less
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups scalded milk cooled to warm. (To make scald milk, pour milk into a sauce pan, on medium heat bring milk almost to a boil ((180 degrees)) then remove from the heat.) shopping list
- 1 ½ cups rendered butter also known as clarifying butter or ghee. (To render butter, simmer the butter skimming off the foam it rises to the top until the butter liquid is clear.) shopping list
- 2 cups sugar shopping list
- 1 pkg dry yeast + 1/4 cups warm water and a tsp of sugar; or prepare the yeast according to the package directions. shopping list
- 1 ½ tbls of anise seed (This gives the bread its licorice flavor.) shopping list
- 1 ½ tbls of Mahleb - *Mahleb=The ground pit of the sour cherry is a sweet/sour flavoring used in Middle Eastern baked goods (breads, cookies and biscuits). The taste is somewhat nutty and bitter. *See my alternative to Mahleb below under "Alterations". It is only a suggestion, if you don't happen to have Mahleb on hand. shopping list
- Pinch salt shopping list
- 8 to 10 cups of all purpose flour shopping list
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- Syrup: shopping list
- 1 cup milk or cream (I used cream) shopping list
- ½ cup of sugar shopping list
- 1 tbls unsalted butter shopping list
- 1/8 tsp salt shopping list
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- Alternative to Mahleb: shopping list
- *I did not have Mahleb on hand so I did some research and found that you could substitute by with grindinf a 2" cinnamon stick, 3 cloves, and 1 bay leaf which is what I did for this recipe. I will try it next time with the Mahleb. shopping list
How to make it
- Mix the warm milk, butter, sugar, yeast, anise seed, mahleb (or substitute), and salt in a large bowl. Add flour gradually – kneading as with bread dough. Cover and let rest for 1 hour. NOTE: this dough doesn’t double in size as with a standard bread dough, it will be very firm in texture.
- Roll rope like pieces and then form into doughnut shape circles or whatever shapes you like. I chose to make 3 different shapes just for fun. Place the shaped breads on a lightly greased cookie sheet or a sheet lined with a Silpat and bake at 375 degrees for approximately 15-20 minutes. If you make larger shapes like I did when I shaped the twists and scarf-like shapes, you may need to bake for 20 minutes, if you bake with the smaller doughnut shapes, then you will probably bake them for 15 minutes. Remove the baked bread from the oven and let cool on a rack. NOTE: Making the smaller doughnut shapes will give you approximately 60 doughnuts.
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- Syrup – Bring the milk or cream, sugar and butter to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Brush over cooled Easter bread while still on the rack.
- Enjoy!
Sour Cherry Seed
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People Who Like This Dish 5
- DeeDee2230 Las Vegas, Nevada
- 3gdogs Nowhere, Us
- lunasea Orlando, FL
- jimrug1 Peoria, IL
- quaziefly ALL POINTS
- grk Houston, TX
- crazeecndn Edmonton, CA
- linda2230 Las Vegas, NV
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The Rating
Reviewed by 3 people-
Great job Judy. This is one pastry that really brings back old memories. Very good with coffee or tea. Next time you make these, I will pay for the overnight shipping..... ;-)~~
jimrug1
in Peoria loved it
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Judy hon - how wonderful! I can't wait to try this recipe. I don't have Mahleb on hand but sure know where to get it, so I'll snag some and give it a try. I love the shapes you chose - so beautiful and appetizing. I flagged your picture for beaut...more
lunasea
in Orlando loved it
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