Bacci Bread for #BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

This month Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla has chosen breads from around the world that are traditional for Easter, Passover or Springtime. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. I am excited by this challenge because it gave me an opportunity to make Frank's grandmother's Easter bread.  Frank's grandma, Bacci in Polish, made this bread every once in a while but always for Easter. Frank has very fond memories of eating this bread, fresh out of the oven at Easter dinner and also stale with flat Vernors on other visits when the bread was a couple of days old.  He actually looked forward to visits at his Bacci's just so he could slather the stale bread with butter and eat it while drinking the flat Vernors, which is a ginger soft drink made and available here in Michigan.  It's funny the things that remain with us and are thought of fondly as we age.

Frank's cousin, David, and he were reminiscing about this bread and Frank said that he wished someone had written down Bacci's recipe.  Frank's Mom and sister have tried replicating it from memory and while it was very close it was missing a little something.  David said he thought his Mom did have the recipe and when he went home he typed it out and emailed it to us.

Ciocia Irene, David's mother, wrote out this recipe exactly as told by Bacci who was her mother in law.  David copied and sent it to us, exactly as it was written and also included some words of wisdom from Ciocia.

6 1/2 sifters flour to 7, 1 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 lb. butter, 1 c. raisins, 8 egg yolks, 1 3/4 c. milk, 2 jiggers rum, 2 pkgs. yeast, 2 oranges zest, 1 T. salt.

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 c. warm water.  Add all of ingredients together in bowl except milk.  Heat 1 c. of milk with butter, add 3/4 c. milk to cool and pour over mixture.  Mix with hands or feet well.  Let rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hrs.

Put dough on table and knead well, form 3 loaves and put in greased pan, let rise again 2 hrs.

Bake at 350* for about 40 minutes.  Enjoy

Ciocia's notes: If dough is stickyadd a little more flour.  Dough should be soft and easy.  

David's notes: Mom used and electric blanket to rise dough, just wrap and put in warm spot, I guess.

I translated as best I could and tried my hand at it for our Easter Dinner this year.  I held my breath in anticipation as Frank cut himself a slice and slathered it with butter.

"Babe" he said "I think you did it".

I ended up with 3 nice size loaves.

Frank asked me to leave the one he cut sitting out so he could eat it with flat Vernors.

Bacci Bread

as remembered by Mom Klik, Ciocia Irene and our sister, Roz.

8 c. bread flour, extra if needed (I think I used almost 9 c,)

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 c. raisins

8 egg yolks

zest of 2 oranges

4 1/2 t. yeast (2 pkgs)

1 T. kosher salt

2 shot glasses of white rum

2 sticks unsalted butter

1 3/4 c. milk, divided

Heat 1 c. of the milk and butter over low heat until butter is melted.  Add 3/4 c. cold milk to cool mixture.

Combine 8 c. bread flour, sugar, raisins, egg yolk, zest, yeast, salt and rum in the large bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment.  Mix on low speed until combined

Pour over flour mixture and continue to mix on low speed until milk is absorbed.  Mix on medium speed, adding flour as needed, until the dough holds together and is able to be touched without sticking to your fingers.  Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set aside in a warm area for 2 hrs. The dough will not appear to have risen much.

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead well.  Using a pastry knife, divide dough into 3 or 4 pieces, depending on the size of your pans.  Form into loaves and place in well greased loaf pans, cover with a damp towel and let sit in a warm area for 2 hrs.

The loaves will not look like they have risen at all.  Don't panic.....

Bake the loaves in a preheated 350* oven for 40 minutes and delight in the fact that they look wonderful!! 

Let cool on racks, slice and serve with butter and flat Vernors (optional).

Here's our International Bread Basket in alphabetical order

• Bacci Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Casatiello by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Choereg - Armenian Easter Bread by Chef Mireille's East West Realm
• Colomba Pasquale (Easter Dove Bread) by Cook's Hideout
• Cornish Saffron Easter Bread by Pastry Chef Online
• Folar (Portuguese Easter Bread) by Passion Kneaded
• Hot Cross Buns by En la Cocina de Caro
• Hornazo De Salamanca - Spanish Easter Bread by Ruchik Randhap
• Hungarian Egg Twist by Hostess at Heart
• Hungarian White Bread by Magnolia Days
• Individual Braided Easter Bread by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Italian Easter Bread by La Cocina de Aisha
• Lambropsomo - Greek Easter Bread by Spice Roots
• Lithuanian Easter Raisin Bread by My Catholic Kitchen
• Matzo by A Shaggy Dough Story
• Mennonite Paska by Food Lust People Love
• Pääsiäisleipä - Finnish Easter Bread by Bakers and Best
• Pane di Pasqua - Italian Easter Bread Wreath by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Polish Bobka Easter Bread by Seduction in the Kitchen
• Russian Kulich by That's My Home
• Springtime Sweet Bread by Cooking club
• Strawberry Fritters by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Tsoureki (Greek Easter Bread) by Simply Veggies