Brother Bandera's Italian Easter Bread

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Place 2½ cups of the flour in a mixing bowl, and mix in the yeast, salt, sugar, nutmeg, allspice and lemon peel.

2. Step 2

   Warm the milk and butter in a saucepan to 120 degrees, stir to melt the butter and pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Lightly beat 3 of the eggs, add them and mix all the ingredients together. Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.

3. Step 3

   Turn the dough out onto a floured board, flatten it and knead in the fruit peel. Knead the dough about 10 minutes, adding additional flour as necessary to make a soft dough that is barely sticky.

4. Step 4

   Lightly oil a bowl, place the dough in it, turn it, cover the bowl and set the dough aside to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

5. Step 5

   Punch the dough down, and divide it in four pieces. Roll each of the pieces into a tight ball and place them in an oiled 10-inch cake pan. Cover, and allow to rise in a warm place about 30 minutes.

6. Step 6

   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the remaining egg with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush this mixture lightly onto the dough. Place in the oven and bake about 45 minutes, until nicely browned. Allow to cool before cutting.