7 AMAZING AND DECADENT TRADITIONAL EASTER BREADS TO BAKE RIGHT NOW!

Easter means hot cross buns, right? This is just so wrong on so many levels! Easter around the world is steeped in traditions and most traditions are tied to food…, more specifically bread. Traditionally, the period before Easter, Lent, is simply one long and sad period of the year, where rich foods are set aside for simpler and easier meals. Easter is a celebration, the true renewal of life, the first moment when you know for sure that winter is finally over for good and it is safe to raid the larder for the more exotic spices and the richer foods.

The kitchen is the heart of any culture, after all, people tend to spend well over 70% of their free time there, either cooking and baking or more simply passing the time in chatter and gossip. For most people, when they think back at their childhood, a the moment when they felt truly loved, they will see the maternal figure of a woman cooking or dishing up a meal. Walk past a bakery and your transported right back to those childhood memories.

Observe an adult child going home to his or her parents and often, almost subconsciously, the habit is to walk up to the fridge, peek inside and greet everyone. If you want to trigger marital strife, simply mention a dish that your mother cooked better…

Where Sunday lunches used to be a big deal, Christmas, Easter, graduation or birthday lunches took the love and care to another dimension. While often the protein is the hero of these occasions, usually in the form of a roast, there is something to be said for the carbohydrates that accompany these proteins.

So, what makes an amazing bread for Easter and what do cultures around the world have in common?

Easter breads are made with enriched doughs

The Christian Lenten tradition restricted the use of dairy products and other enriching products such as eggs during the Lenten season. Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras as it is better known, was the day before Lent started on Ash Wednesday where all the “rich” ingredients – cream, cheese, butter, milk, eggs were used up in order to prepare for Lent. After all, these ingredients could not easily be stored for 40 days.

Easter, marking the end of this Lenten period would therefore be marked by the re-introduction of these products in our cooking. Breads and sauces would be naturally enriched to mark a stark contrast with the prior fasting period and add to the sense of rejoicing.

Easter Breads are made with spices

Easter is a celebration of life, of the triumph over death. It is a time of rejuvenation and renewal and spices lend to the festive atmosphere.

Just like mulled, spiced wine marks Christmas, a similar set of spices would mark Easter. Nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom are easily stored through winter and preserve their flavours for a long time. So potent are they that a tiny amount goes a long way.

Nutmeg in particular is an interesting spice as it is a tonic in small does and invigorates a person while cinnamon brings a sense of warmth and these two spices can lead to a release of endorphins – the body’s natural painkillers, essentially triggering a natural high.

Easter breads are made with nuts and dried or candied fruits

After a long winter and Lenten season, what is left in your larder? Nowadays, we ca buy fresh fruits and vegetables year round. Not so long ago, before the advent of airplanes and fast transport networks, people would store fruits and vegetables for the winter. pickling and salting were popular for meats and vegetable, but fruits would be dried or candied.

Naturally, come spring, while nature prepared a new bounty, housewives would scour their larders for the best ingredients to make a festive meal and would find nuts and dried or candied fruits. With the promise of new and fresher produce to come, these ingredients would be incorporated into an Easter bread to use them up but also lend a sense of hope and optimism – we no longer have to economize, we are now ready to celebrate!

Fruits in particular would be highly prized as usually the drying process would concnetrate the flavours and more importantly, the sugars, increasing their sweetness and allowing the home baker to produce a sweet dish at a time when honey was scarce.

Candied fruits on the other hand tended to be made with more citrusy produce such as oranges and lemons. These would ordinarily have been shipped from warmer climes to the north of Europe, representing a real treat for those that could afford them. The addition of sugar or honey not only preserved them but made them ideal for a great Easter bread.

So, what are the best Easter breads respecting these traditions?