Easter Bread (Orange Almond Sweet Bread)

By Becky Hardin

Updated Mar 27, 2026

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This traditional Italian Easter bread recipe is an enriched yeast bread, made with eggs, milk, sugar, butter, and flour. The orange almond flavor is subtle but delectable, and the colorful sprinkles on top are perfectly festive for Easter Sunday. I love to serve this braided sweet bread for Easter brunch, a post-lunch treat, or with dinner.

Easy Easter Bread Recipe

If you aren’t familiar with Easter bread, it is made with a yeast dough enriched with ingredients like butter, milk, and eggs, and sweetened with sugar and sometimes other flavors. It’s similar to brioche or challah (egg breads). It’s typically braided, sometimes formed into wreaths, and topped with colorful sprinkles.

This orange and almond sweet bread definitely requires a few steps to make, but it’s well worth the effort to serve it for Easter. It’s easier than it looks, and it’s so delicious. I found that it’s actually really fun to make and always gets a lot of compliments.

Tips for Beginners

• Give yourself plenty of time. This recipe requires time to rise, rest, and bake, so give yourself plenty of time to make it before you’re ready to serve it. A few hours, at the very least.
• Use an instant-read thermometer. This helps confirm the milk/butter/almond mixture is the right temperature (120-130°F), which is important for the yeast to activate. Too hot and it will kill the yeast, too low and the yeast won’t activate.
• Brush the topping towards the middle of the loaf. Focus the almonds and sprinkles towards the middle of the loaf, as the bread will expand and spread as it bakes, so this keeps the toppings on top of the loaf.

Recipe Card

Easy Easter Bread Recipe (Orange Almond Sweet Bread)

4.82 from 32 votes

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 55 minutes mins

Rest: 1 hour hr

Total: 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Servings: 12

Author: Becky Hardin

Print Rate Pin

This traditional bread is a must for Easter Sunday. It's deliciously flavorful thanks to the almond extract and orange zest, and the colorful sprinkles are so fun.

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Ingredients 

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For the Bread

• ▢ 1½ cups whole milk 341g
• ▢ 6 tbsp unsalted butter 85g (¾ stick)
• ▢ ¼ tsp almond extract 1g
• ▢ ⅔ cup granulated sugar 133g
• ▢ 2 tbsp orange zest (from 1 orange)
• ▢ 4½ tsp active dry yeast 14g (2 packages)
• ▢ 1 tsp kosher salt 3g
• ▢ 6 cups all-purpose flour 720g, plus more for kneading the bread
• ▢ 3 large eggs 150g, lightly beaten

For the Topping

• ▢ 1 large egg 50g, lightly beaten
• ▢ 1 tbsp cold water 14g
• ▢ 1 cup honey roasted sliced almonds 86g
• ▢ 1 tbsp pastel sprinkles or nonpareils, 12 grams

Video

Instructions 

• In a small saucepan, over medium-low temperature, heat the milk, butter and almond extract. The temperature of the milk mixture, using an instant-read thermometer, should be between 120-130°F.
  1½ cups whole milk, 6 tbsp unsalted butter, ¼ tsp almond extract
• While the milk/butter mixture warms, place sugar and orange zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. With your fingertips, rub the sugar and zest together until it is well combined.
  ⅔ cup granulated sugar, 2 tbsp orange zest
• Add the yeast, salt and 2 cups of the flour to the sugar/orange zest, and mix on low to combine.
  4½ tsp active dry yeast, 6 cups all-purpose flour , 1 tsp kosher salt
• Add the warm milk mixture to the dry ingredients; beat on medium-low speed 2 minutes.
• Add the 3 beaten eggs and beat 2 more minutes.
  3 large eggs
• Gradually, add the remaining 4 cups flour and beat until a soft dough forms. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky.
  6 cups all-purpose flour
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead (adding extra flour as needed) about 6-8 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth.
• Place the dough upside down in a lightly buttered, large bowl and then gently turn it upright making sure the entire surface is buttered. Cover the bowl, with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1-1½ hours (depending on the warmth of your kitchen).
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
• When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Cut it into thirds and gently roll each third into a 20-inch-long rope. Transfer the ropes to the prepared baking sheet and press the ropes together at one end. Braid the ropes together and tuck the ends under. Cover the braided loaf with plastic wrap lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. This will prevent the plastic wrap from sticking to the dough. Let the dough rise until doubled in size (30 minutes-1 hour).
• While the braided dough rises, heat oven to 350°F.
• In a small bowl, lightly beat together one egg and water. Brush the loaf with the egg wash and sprinkle the loaf with almonds and pastel sprinkles. The loaf will spread when baking, so sprinkle the majority of the almonds and sprinkles toward the middle of the loaf.
  1 large egg, 1 tbsp cold water, 1 cup honey roasted sliced almonds, 1 tbsp pastel sprinkles
• Bake the bread 40-55 minutes or until it turns golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
• Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and cool 30 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 360kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 9gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 36mgPotassium: 127mgFiber: 1gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 305IUCalcium: 54mgIron: 3.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this? Leave a comment!

How to Make Easter Bread Step by Step

Warm the wet ingredients: Over medium-low heat, using a small saucepan, heat 1½ cups whole milk, 6 tbsp unsalted butter, and ¼ tsp almond extract. Use an instant-read thermometer to confirm the temperature of the milk mixture is between 120-130°F.

Combine the sugar and zest: While the milk mixture is heating up, place ⅔ cup granulated sugar and 2 tbsp orange zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Using your fingers, rub the sugar and zest together until they are well combined.

Add the dry ingredients: Add 4½ tsp active dry yeast, 2 cups all-purpose flour, and 1 tsp kosher salt to the sugar/orange zest in the stand mixer and mix on low to combine.

Add the wet ingredients: Add the warm milk mixture to the dry ingredients; beat on medium-low speed 2 minutes and then add 3 beaten eggs and continue beating for 2 more minutes.

Add the remaining flour: Gradually, pour in the remaining 4 cups of flour and beat until a soft dough forms. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky.

Knead the dough: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more flour as needed, for about 6-8 minutes or until the dough is elastic and smooth.

Let the dough rise: Place the dough upside down in a lightly buttered, large bowl and then gently flip it over, making sure the entire surface is buttered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1-1½ hours. The time it takes will depend on the warmth of the kitchen.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray it with nonstick cooking spray so the dough doesn’t stick. Set aside.

Cut dough and roll: Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Cut it into thirds and gently roll each third into a 20-inch-long rope, place them on the baking sheet, and press the ropes together at one end.

Braid the dough: Grab a piece of dough from the outside and lay it over the middle section. Then grab the other outer section and lay it over the new middle section. Repeat, alternating the side you’re grabbing from, always bringing it over the middle section. Finally, tuck the ends underneath the dough.

Cover and let rise: Cover the braided loaf with plastic wrap lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size. This usually takes me about 30 minutes.

While the braided dough rises, preheat the oven to 350°F.

Add the topping: Make the egg wash by lightly beating one egg and 1 tbsp water together. Brush the loaf with the egg wash and sprinkle it with 1 cup honey roasted almonds and 1 tbsp pastel sprinkles. The loaf will spread when baking, so sprinkle the majority of the almonds and sprinkles toward the middle of the loaf.

Bake: Bake the bread for 40-55 minutes or until it turns golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

Cool and serve: Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and cool 30 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

Flavor Variations

The orange almond flavor of this sweet Easter bread is delicious, but you can change things up if you prefer.

Swap the almond extract for a sweet extract like vanilla extract or something more tart like lemon extract.

You can skip the orange zest if you don’t want that citrusy flavor, or you can use lemon zest instead.

How to Store

Store leftover Easter bread in an airtight container or resealable bag, and keep it at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Place this bread in a freezer-safe container or resealable bag, and freeze for up to 2 months. Let it thaw before serving.

Serving Suggestions

This almond bread makes a great treat any time on Easter Sunday. It pairs well with coffee for a sweet breakfast, and it is perfect for my Easter Brunch table. For brunch, I’ll also prepare these creamy eggs Benedict for the adults and make buttermilk pancakes for the kids. And, no brunch table of mine is complete without some crispy air fryer bacon.

More Easter Recipes To Try

• Pineapple Ham features a sweet brown sugar glaze and a generous helping of crushed pineapple.
• Loaded Scalloped Potatoes are layered with lots of cheese and bacon, and cooked in a cheesy sauce.
• This Lemon Meringue Pie is layered with fresh lemon filling and topped with a thick layer of soft and sweet meringue.

more bread recipes

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No Knead Dutch Oven Bread

No Knead Focaccia (Cheese Focaccia)

Cinnamon Roll Bread