Parris House Savory Dill Easter Bread
We all have THAT cook book, especially if we've been around the kitchen for a while. It's the cook book with the dog ears, the stained pages, and a history. For me, THAT cook book is the old 1980s version of the Betty Crocker Cook Book. I received it as a gift for my bridal shower in 1987 and have used it faithfully ever since. It has the best mac and cheese recipe ever in it, and the recipe for quiche which wins me accolades. In fact, I served that quiche at our Maine studio opening event in 2013 and a couple of people still talk to me about that quiche. Really. But aside from using the recipes just as they stand, following this classic cook book also taught me a lot about cooking, and how to make my own recipes. I even have a four leaf clover pressed in to the pages of this cook book. I think that makes it extra lucky.
For a lot of years I used the basic bread recipe in this cook book when baking bread, but gradually over time I started diverging from the recipe, and then I started just winging bread recipes entirely. It became like soup; you just do it. The recipe for the Parris House Savory Easter Bread is a combo. The basic bread recipe in this cook book was the jumping off point, but I changed it considerably. And the traditional Italian Easter bread, which is actually a very sweet bread with lots of sugar in the dough and sprinkles on top, also inspired this bread in form and appearance. My mother made Italian Easter Bread every year, and so I hesitated before so radically changing the recipe for our Easter dinner, but I wanted something savory with a rustic farmhouse look. Here's what I came up with...
- 1 package dry yeast (or 1 TBSP)
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1 TBSP sugar
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 egg
- 1-1/2 TSP sea salt
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 3-1/2 cups bread flour (add more if you need to but be careful not to make the dough tough)
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
- Six RAW eggs, colored or not (your preference)
- 3 TBSP melted butter
- 2 TBSP sea salt
- Parris House Wool Works
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