Pasquale

Recipe: Pasquale from Italy

Pasquale

Also know as Pascale. This is dove shape sweet-tasting Easter bread from Italy.

1 oz. baker’s yeast, crumbled
1/8 cup warm water
1-1/3 lbs. all-purpose flour
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup diced candied lemon and orange rinds
1/4 cup heaping slivered almonds
1-1/4 cup butter, softened

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix it with 1/4 of flour. Make a solid dough, shape in to a ball and and cut a cross on the top. Roll the dough in some flour and place it into a bowl with 1 cup warm water for 30 minutes. Turn the dough occasionally when it floats to the surface. In a separate bowl knead the remaining flour with 5 egg yolks, 1/2 cup butter, the sugar, the lemon zest, a pinch of salt and 6 tablespoons warm milk. Add in the yeast dough and knead for 20 minutes until the dough is smooth and rather compact. Let the dough rise in a warm place until increased by a third in volume. Knead the dough again, adding half of the remaining softened butter in pieces. Put the dough back in the bowl to rise until doubled in volume. Put the dough on the pastry board once again and knead in the remaining butter and the candied peel. Shape the dough into the form of a dove or put it in a dove shaped mold and let rise for 30 minutes. Brush the dough with the remaining egg yolk. Distribute the almonds over the surface press them in slightly. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Preheat oven to 375F. Bake for 15 minutes then lower the heat to 325F and cook for another 20 minutes.

back to International Easter Breads

⇴ image from N i c o l a from Fiumicino (Rome), Italy, wikipedia, (CC BY 2.0)

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