Nutri-Data . . . Easy-to-Make Sweet Bread for Easter : Recipes With Shortcut Ingredients Make Preparation a Time-Saver for the Busy Cook
No Easter festivities are complete without a sweet, yeasty bread to offer family and guests. But, with shopping to do, eggs to die, baskets to fill and a dinner to plan, who has time to bake these fragrant breads from scratch?
The sweet bread recipes offered here are easy on the busy cook because each one uses short-cut ingredients such as hot roll mix, frozen bread dough, brown-and-serve rolls or refrigerated crescent rolls so the cook doesn’t have to bother with collecting or mixing ingredients.
Tinted to Match Table Setting
We start with a bread that is braided around a spicy pear and prune filling, then finished with a sugar glaze that can be tinted to match your Easter table setting. The nutritious ingredients add up to a good source of B vitamins--thiamine, riboflavin and niacin--and adds a little iron to the diet as well.
Instead of candy, offer the children the Peanut-Coconut Baskettes here. Not only will they enjoy the peanut butter flavor of these sweet rolls, they might even like to join in the easy construction of their basket shapes. Best of all, these rolls offer important amounts of protein, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and iron, something the children won’t get from candy.
PEAR BREAD BRAID
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
Margarine, softened
1 (16-ounce) package hot roll mix
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
Pear Filling
Glaze
Heat water in small saucepan 7ith milk and 2 tablespoons softened margarine until very warm (110 to 120 degrees). Combine yeast and flour mixture from roll mix with sugar in large bowl. Mix well. Add warm liquid and egg and stir until dough pulls cleanly away from sides of bowl. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. With greased or floured hands, shape into ball. Knead dough 5 minutes until smooth. Cover dough with large bowl. Let rest 5 minutes.
On lightly floured surface, shape dough into 14x12-inch rectangle using floured rolling pin or hands. Carefully transfer rectangle of dough to greased baking sheet. Spread with 2 tablespoons margarine.
Spread Pear Filling lengthwise down center third of dough. Using sharp knife or scissors, make 2 1/2-inch cuts 1 1/2 inches apart along long sides. Starting at one end, crisscross strips, alternating from side to side, overlapping ends to enclose filling.
Place wire rack over large pan filled with very hot tap water. Cover dough completely with towel. Place on rack over water and let rise until light, 25 to 30 minutes. Uncover dough and bake at 375 degrees 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire rack. Drizzle Glaze over bread. Refrigerate leftovers. Makes 1 loaf, 8 servings.
Pear Filling
1 (16-ounce) can sliced pears, drained and diced
1/2 cup diced pitted prunes
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon mace
Combine pears, prunes, sugar, nutmeg and mace in small bowl.
Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon margarine
1 tablespoon milk
Few drops red or green food color, if desired Combine powdered sugar and margarine in small bowl. Stir in milk. Add food color and blend.
PER SERVING: 290 calories; 6 gm protein; 52 gm carbohydrate; 7 gm fat; 340 mg sodium; 170 mg potassium.
USRDA
Protein 08% Riboflavin 15% Vitamin A 08% Niacin 10% Vitamin C 00% Calcium 02% Thiamine 20% Iron 08% PEANUT-COCONUT BASKETTES
1 (16-ounce) loaf frozen white bread dough
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup flake coconut
1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter
Allow frozen bread dough to thaw until pliable. Combine peanut butter, brown and granulated sugars and milk in small bowl. Add vanilla and coconut. Mix well. Divide bread dough in halves.
On lightly floured board, roll each half into 12x8-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter. Spread each rectangle with half of filling mixture. Beginning with 12-inch sides, roll up each rectangle of dough. Pinch edges to seal. Cut each roll into 8 slices.
Using scissors or sharp knife, make 2 cuts in top of each piece, not cutting all the way through. Fan out side sections, leaving middle slice as “handle”. Place rolls on lightly greased baking sheet. Let rise in warm place 45 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan and cool on wire racks. Makes 16 rolls, 8 servings.
PER SERVING: 341 calories; 8 gm protein; 51 gm carbohydrate; 12 gm fat; 388 mg sodium; 205 mg potassium.
USRDA
Protein 13% Riboflavin 10% Vitamin A 02% Niacin 18% Vitamin C 01% Calcium 08% Thiamine 16% Iron 12% RAISIN-FILLED CROWN
6 tablespoons margarine, softened
Sugar
14 to 18 whole blanched almonds
1 (16-ounce) package hot roll mix
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
Grease 12-cup fluted tube pan with 2 tablespoons margarine. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar. Arrange almonds in clusters of 3 in decorative pattern in bottom of prepared pan. Set aside.
Combine yeast and flour mixture from roll mix with 2 tablespoons sugar in large bowl. Mix well. Heat water, milk and 2 tablespoons margarine in small saucepan until very warm (110 to 120 degrees). Add warm liquids and egg to dry ingredients. Stir until dough pulls cleanly away from sides of bowl. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. With greased or floured hands, shape dough into ball. Knead dough 5 minutes until smooth. Cover dough with large bowl. Let rest 5 minutes.
Shape dough into 14x10-inch rectangle on lightly floured surface using floured rolling pin or hands. Spread with remaining 2 tablespoons margarine. Combine 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over dough. Sprinkle raisins evenly over sugar mixture. Starting with 14-inch side, roll up tightly. Pinch seam edge firmly to seal. Form into ring, pinching ends together to seal. Place, seam side down, over almonds in prepared pan.
Place wire rack over large pan filled with very hot tap water. Cover dough completely with towel and set on rack over water. Let rise until light, about 30 minutes. Uncover dough and bake at 350 degrees 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Invert onto serving plate immediately. Serve warm. Makes 1 coffeecake, 10 servings.
PER SERVING: 280 calories; 6 gm protein; 44 gm carbohydrate; 9 gm fat; 340 mg sodium; 150 mg potassium.
USRDA
Protein 10% Riboflavin 15% Vitamin A 06% Niacin 10% Vitamin C 00% Calcium 04% Thiamine 20% Iron 10% APPLE-ORANGE TOPSY TURVIES
1 cup apple sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
12 brown and serve rolls
Heat apple sauce, orange peel and juice, raisins, butter and sugar in saucepan. Pour into greased 12x7-inch pan. Place rolls upside down in sauce and press down firmly. Bake at 425 degrees 15 minutes. Turn rolls out of pan immediately and spoon sauce remaining in pan over rolls. Serve warm. Makes 6 servings.
PER SERVING: 301 calories; 5 gm protein; 53 gm carbohydrate; 8 gm fat; 348 mg sodium; 170 mg potassium.
USRDA
Protein 07% Riboflavin 07% Vitamin A 04% Niacin 06% Vitamin C 07% Calcium 04% Thiamine 10% Iron 10% FRUIT-FILLED CRESCENT ROLLS
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup orange marmalade
1 (8-ounce) package refrigerated crescent rolls
Melt butter in skillet. Stir in apricots and walnuts. Add marmalade and mix well.
Unroll crescent roll dough. Place 1 teaspoon filling in center of each triangle of dough. Roll up each triangle and bake according to package directions. Makes 8 rolls, 4 servings.
PER SERVING: 367 calories; 5 gm protein; 47 gm carbohydrate; 31 gm fat; 550 mg sodium; 164 mg potassium.
USRDA
Protein 08% Riboflavin 08% Vitamin A 20% Niacin 09% Vitamin C 03% Calcium 02% Thiamine 13% Iron 10%