Italian Anise Bread Recipes

Steps:

• Mix 1 cup of flour with sugar, salt, and yeast in a bowl, stir well. Place milk and anise extract into a small saucepan over low heat, and warm to about 110 degrees F (43 degrees C). Make a well in the center of the flour mixture with your hand, and pour in the milk mixture; swirl with your hand in a circular motion to combine the flour mixture with the milk mixture. Mix in butter and eggs, one at a time, then mix in remaining flour until dough begins to pull together.
• Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead until soft but elastic, about 8 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth, and let dough rest for 10 minutes; cut dough into halves.
• On floured work surface, roll each half into a ball, then shape the balls into 2 long pieces, about 1 1/2 inches thick and 18 to 20 inches long. Pinch the 2 top ends together, and loosely twist the pieces to form a twisted loaf; pinch the bottom ends together, and tuck the two ends underneath the loaf. (Alternately, form the twist into a ring, and pinch the ends together.)
• Grease a baking sheet, lay the loaf onto the prepared sheet, and cover with a damp towel; let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Brush loaf with beaten egg, and sprinkle with colored decorating dragees.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake the decorated loaf in the preheated oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Watch closely towards the end of the baking time that the bread does not begin to burn. Transfer to wire rack immediately after baking to cool.

Steps:

• 1. In a large bowl dissolve yeast in water, let bubble.
• 2. Then blend all other ingredients in yeast water mixture, gradually add in flour.
• 3. Knead dough 5-10 minutes. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 5 hours.
• 4. Punch down after first rise, shape and place in greased loaf pans. Cover again with plastic wrap and let rise 2 more hours.
• 5. Mix one egg with 1 tablespoon of milk or water and brush tops of loaves. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.
• 6. NOTE: If you have time, you can let this rise overnight, punch dough down and shape, put in pan and let rise 3 more hours, then bake.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a fluted tube pan (such as Bundt®) with shortening and dust with flour.
• Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
• Mix sugar and butter in a bowl with a spoon until creamy. Mix in eggs.
• Combine orange juice and milk in a separate bowl; pour into the sugar mixture. Stir in the flour mixture, anise, and lemon extract until well combined. Fold in dates and walnuts. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the top of the cake springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Transfer cake to a rack for final cooling, 15 to 25 minutes.

Steps:

• Place in order of your manufacturers instructions for your bread machine (makes 1 1/2 pound loaf).
• Place on sweet bread setting, light crust.
• Checking as mixing that it forms a smooth slight tacky ball of dough.
• If dough is sloppy, add a tsp, flour at a time.
• If dough is too hard like, add a tsp milk, at a time.
• Although at this time I did not have to adjust my dough upon mixing.
• Remove when completed baking, to a wire rack.
• Cool thoroughly before cutting with a serrated bread knife, or before storing.

Steps:

• In mixer bowl beat eggs. Add sugar, butter, crisco, oil, milk, and vanilla.
• Dissolve yeast in the warm water. You may want to use a thermometer to be sure the temperature is correct. Let yeast sit until it foams, as in package directions. Add to egg mixture. Add anise.
• Add flour one cup at a time until mixture is unmanageable. Transfer into LARGE pan (Dishpan works well.) and work in remaining flour, kneading with hands.
• Knead until you are too tired to knead any more (half hour?) and then oil top of dough ball, cover, and let rise in warm place 6 hours or overnight.
• Grease 6 loaf pans. Separate dough into 6 parts and knead each again. Cover with towels and let rise in warm place another couple of hours.
• Bake 1 hour at 275 degrees. Do not underbake or they will be hard as a rock. (Top should be lightly browned.).

Steps:

• In a bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the sugar, orange juice, butter, eggs, egg whites, lemon juice, orange zest, salt, lemon zest, extract and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in raisins and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1/4 hours., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape into loaves. Place in two 8x4-in. loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to cool on wire racks.