Adapted from Adriana Trigiani’s bookCooking With My Sisters, this tender citrus-scented bread appears annually on her Italian family’s Easter table.Holiday bread making is a competitive sportin the author’s family, each member making their version of this Venetian classic. This—Trigiani’s mother’s variation—was the crowd-pleaser, the only one worthy of perching on a cake stand come Easter morning.
If you’d like, instead of making the powdered sugar glaze, try brushing the still-warm bread with honey as Trigiani’s mother used to do. Leftover bread makes excellent French toast. Adriana Trigiani’s latest novel,The Good Left Undone,is out now.
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What you’ll need
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Stand Mixer
$299 At Amazon
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9" Round Cake Pan
$18 $16 At Amazon
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Instant-Read Thermometer
$35 At Thermoworks
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Set of 6 Pastry Rulers
$20 At Kitchen Jukebox
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French Rolling Pin
$21 At Amazon
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Bench Scraper
$8 At Amazon
Ingredients
12 servings
Bread
Glaze and assembly
Bread
Step 1
Beatzest of 1 lemon,zest of 1 orange,4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature,¼ cup granulated sugar,1 tsp. anise liqueur(if using),1 tsp. dark rum(if using),1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt,1 tsp. orange extract,1 tsp. vanilla extract, and½ tsp. lemon extractin the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until pale and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add1 large egg, room temperature, and beat until combined (it’s okay if mixture looks curdled).
Step 2
Switch to the dough hook and add⅔ cup whole milk, room temperature,¼ cup fresh orange juice,2 tsp. instant yeast, and3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour. Mix on low speed, scraping bottom and sides of bowl once or twice, until a smooth, soft dough forms, 18–20 minutes (toward the end of mixing, dough will release cleanly from the sides of bowl but may still stick to bottom).
Step 3
Transfer dough to a surface and form into a ball. Lightly coat mixer bowl withvegetable oil, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a plate and let dough rise in a warm spot until nearly doubled in size, 2–3 hours. Chill dough at least 30 minutes to firm up.
Step 4
Turn dough out onto a lightlyflouredsurface and pat into a square. Roll out to a 13x9" rectangle, then rotate dough so a long side is closest to you. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut dough vertically into 8 strips. Gently roll up each strip into a coil (don’t roll too tight or the centers will pop out while proofing).
Step 5
Lightly coat a 9"-diameter cake pan with oil. Arrange dough coils, cut side down, in pan, starting in the center, then working around the perimeter. Cover with plastic wrap or a plate and let dough rise in a warm spot until nearly doubled in size, 1–2 hours.
Step 6
Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°. Uncover pan and bake bread until the center of each coil is golden brown (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of bread should register 190°), 23–28 minutes. Let cool in pan 15 minutes, then unmold fuatha and transfer to a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Let cool completely, about 45 minutes.
Do ahead:Dough can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled after first rise.
Glaze and assembly
Step 7
Whisk1⅓ cups (147 g) powdered sugar, sifted,3 Tbsp. honey,1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, and apinch of kosher saltin a small bowl until smooth.
Step 8
Pour glaze over fuatha, scraping bowl with a rubber spatula to get every bit; spread evenly over top, letting it drip down the sides. Decorate withsprinklesas desired. Let sit until glaze is set, about 2 hours.
