Italian Easter Bread - Minus the Eggs

I know, I know. I always say I'm going to write more and then I don't. And you all sit at home staring at your computer screen screaming "WHHHHHHHY?????" Well, maybe not.

Per my usual MO, I had to try baking something new this Easter. I can't be fine with the regular sugar cookies or dying eggs. Nope. I have to try something new. This year's experiment is Italian Easter Bread. It's spiked with anise and orange zest and right now my kitchen smells amazing. It also, incidentally, smells like bacon. When I bake something new and tomorrow is a day off of work, there may or may not be some wine involved. Which leads to breakfast at 10:30pm, as it should. Because sustenance is needed when baking! And there's 2 hours left to go between baking and cooling loaves.

Now....before anyone who is an Italian scrolls down and notices that there are no hard cooked eggs dotting my bread, can I just say that I find whole eggs in bread weird? I'm sorry. Maybe I'm more German than Italian? But it just gives me the heebie jeebies. So this is a hard cooked egg free version.

Does anyone remember when two years ago I attempted quick bread at Easter and it was as flat as pancakes? In case you need a reminder....

My caption on Facebook was "My bread didn't rise but Jesus did!"

Yeast bread scares the crap out of me. If the liquid is too hot you kill the yeast. If it's too cold the yeast doesn't activate. And you won't know until it's too late. If you underproof or overproof the world will end, according to Paul Hollywood. Supposedly you can tell if it's over or under based on the crumb and the density? All I know is bread is bread is bread is bread. Luckily this recipe rose beautifully both through the first and second proofing. Here's a picture of the unglazed loaves that are cooling at the moment.

It's a recipe from Brown Eyed Baker (http://www.browneyedbaker.com/italian-easter-bread-recipe/) and she talks about Pgh...so this has to be good, right? Incidentally, this is the second time in 4 months that I have overrun my Kitchen Aid mixer. This dough is a beast. It's 8 cups of flour and so by the time all the liquids and fats were added, it was coming all the way up to the attachment housing. Is this a sign that E should get me the industrial mixer next time around? Where would we even store it? Guess I'll have to keep the one I have.

I'll have to try and remember to post a picture of the finished products before they're wrapped and gifted. If I don't eat it all before then.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!