Italian Anise Bread

Servings:

My family has been making this Italian anise Easter bread recipe for generations. Its origins are in a family bakery owned by my great-great aunts off the boat from Italy. My mom and I are the only remaining individuals who know how to make this, so I'm posting it to share it with others. It is made the old-world way, so it is not quick but delicious and well worth the work and wait.

Prep
17 min
Cook
96 min
Servings
Difficulty
Hard

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1 Combine flour, sugar, and anise seeds in a very large bowl; create a well in the center.
  2. 2 Combine warm water and yeast in a separate bowl. Let stand until yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 10 minutes.
  3. 3 Beat warm milk, eggs, and butter together in a bowl; stir into yeast mixture. Add milk mixture to well in flour mixture; knead using your hands until dough and your hands are no longer sticky. Cover dough with a clean cotton cloth and let rise, 8 hours to overnight.
  4. 4 Grease and flour 6 loaf pans.
  5. 5 Punch down dough; divide into 6 portions. Shape into balls; place each in a prepared pan. Cover pans and let rise for 1 hour.
  6. 6 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  7. 7 Bake in the preheated oven until bread is cooked through, 45 to 50 minutes.

Nutrition per serving

Printed from PantryLink · https://pantrylink.app/recipes/italian-anise-bread