Easter nest

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 500 g flour
• 1 cube of yeast (42 g)
• 1 tsp sugar
• ¼ liter milk, warm
• 100 g butter, liquid
• 3 eggs
• ½ tsp salt
• 80 g sugar
• lemon peel
• ½ tsp anise
• 2 egg yolks
• Granulated sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 45 minutes

A yeast wreath with anise is a tradition in our country

Mix the warm milk with the teaspoon of sugar and the yeast in a bowl. Then add it to the flour and knead it into a pre-dough. Let it rise for 50 minutes, until it has noticeably increased in size. Add the cooled butter to the dough along with all the other ingredients. Now knead well, adding a little flour if necessary, until the dough is no longer sticky. Braid 2/3 of the dough into a braid. Twist 1/3 of the dough into a rope. Tie a small remainder into a bow. Now I always take the inner pan of the marble cake pan without the springform pan rim. I place a piece of non-stick baking paper on top of it and shape it around the middle section (sometimes I tear a cross in the middle). Now I lay the braid upright against the middle section of the pan to form a wreath. Place the rope on top of it, making sure the ends overlap. I then place the bow on this joint. Let it rise for 20 minutes. Brush the nest thoroughly with two egg yolks (makes it shiny and golden) and sprinkle with sugar. Bake the nest for 20-30 minutes at approximately 200°C. Once it’s cooled, place some artificial hay in the center and then the colored or chocolate eggs on top. Any way you like. I bake the nest on Easter morning. Topped with jam or spring quark, it’s a dream. Even though we prepare a much too large Easter brunch every year, the nest is already eaten by the evening, and I get to bake another one for Easter Monday.