Adapted from Adriana Trigiani’s book Cooking With My Sisters, this tender citrus-scented bread appears annually on her Italian family’s Easter table. Holiday bread making is a competitive sport in 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
Stand Mixer
$330 $250 At Amazon
9" Round Cake Pan
$16 At Amazon
Instant-Read Thermometer
$35 At Thermoworks
Set of 6 Pastry Rulers
$20 At Kitchen Jukebox
French Rolling Pin
$21 At Amazon
Bench Scraper
$8 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
12 servings
Ingredients
Bread
4
¼
1
1
1
1
1
½
1
⅔
¼
2
3
Glaze and assembly
1⅓
3
1
Preparation
Bread
Step 1
Beat zest 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, and ½ tsp. lemon extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until pale and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add 1 large egg, room temperature, and beat until combined (it’s okay if mixture looks curdled).
Step 2
Switch to the dough hook and add ⅔ cup whole milk, room temperature, ¼ cup fresh orange juice, 2 tsp. instant yeast, and 3 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 with vegetable 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 lightly floured surface 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
Whisk 1⅓ cups (147 g) powdered sugar, sifted, 3 Tbsp. honey, 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, and a pinch of kosher salt in 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 with sprinkles as desired. Let sit until glaze is set, about 2 hours.
Leave a Review
Reviews (1)
Back to TopDelicious. Soft like a cinnamon roll. Tastes like one too but without the cinnamon - if this makes sense. It was easy to make. However, I am a bit disappointed by the icing. It never really hardened and it was not as white as in the picture. Next time, may make the icing with milk or heavy cream and skip the honey. I also followed a review and skipped the lemon extract. I dide not put lemon zest either because I did not have any but the orange zest and extract were sufficient enough to impart a good flavor.
Regine
Gaithersburg, Maryland
5/3/2023
Alright, but a little disappointing for all the effort - I would recommend BA's best morning buns as a better option if you're looking for a slightly sweet enriched breakfast bread/roll with orange/honey flavor notes. The crumb from this recipe was very tender, and the honey-lemon glaze was a nice touch, but the lemon extract flavor was quite strong even with only half a teaspoon, which threw off the flavor balance. I used the suggested flour weight but found I had to add another ~1/3 cup of flour to make the dough cohesive enough to clear the sides of the mixer bowl. Storing the dough overnight in the fridge after the first rise worked well and made the recipe more achievable as a breakfast bread without requiring getting up too early.
Anonymous
4/2/2023
Took me all afternoon, yet it was well worth it. Dough was easy to handle and I followed the directions to a “T”. My only problem was step 3 says to put dough on a surface and form into a ball. Didn’t say to flour or oil surface and had to scrape dough off counter into oiled bowl. Easier to shape in mixing bowl and dump into another oiled bowl. Looked like a dessert and had to remind myself it was a bread. Absolutely delicious
Anonymous
Long Island
3/29/2023