How to make
Dissolve the yeast with a spoonful of the sugar in the slightly warmed milk. Cover with a towel and leave it in a warm place for 5-10 minutes.
Sift the flour into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Beat the eggs in it, saving one yolk for spreading. Add the sugar, alcohol, citrus shavings, yeast and oil.
Knead the dough, adding flour a little at a time, until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be soft and quite sticky at first. Transfer it to a lightly floured surface and start kneading without worrying about it sticking. Add a little of the butter in the process, if necessary, sprinkle more flour without overdoing it - slowly you will get an elastic, fluffy and non-sticky dough. It's so nice to the touch that you don't want to stop kneading it. I also hit it 50 to 100 times on the counter, if you want you can do it too. Place it back into the bowl, cover it with cling film (the bowl should be large enough to have room to rise) and place a tea towel on top. Let it rise in a warm place for 2 hours or until it has tripled in size.
Knead the risen dough once more and divide into three equal parts. Roll out each of them into a thin crust, spread with butter and sprinkle with the mixed sugar and ground almonds, moistened slightly with the anise liqueur.
Roll into thin rolls and braid the three into a braid, forming a ring from it. Spread with the yolk beaten with a little oil and sprinkle with sugar and sliced almonds. Place in a greased round mold (about 9″ ~ 23 cm diameter) and bake in a 360°F (180°C) oven for about 30 minutes or until fully baked. During the last 10 minutes, reduce the oven to 320°F (160°C).
Let baked Easter bread to cool on a wire rack.
Have fun and happy holidays!
