Easter baking with the Ryans: an annual Family Tradition

Spring Traditions at Easter

For our well-being and quality of life, we appreciate rituals. Examples of rituals can include our habits such as morning coffee, daily meditation, or celebrating certain holidays. Even wedding ceremonies and birthday parties consist of a series of customs. In an often uncertain and rapidly changing world, rituals and traditions offer stability and predictability, and with them, the anticipation of an event. They connect us as humans and create a sense of community and belonging. They can strengthen social bonds and promote a sense of unity within a group or community.

Especially during the holidays, we enjoy many customs that have developed over the years or even centuries. At Easter, Easter traditions are an opportunity to celebrate spring, symbolize the renewal of life, and share the joy and hope of this season with family and friends. These include, for example:

• Egg colouring and Easter egg hunts: Coloring eggs is one of the most well-known Easter traditions. Children often search for hidden Easter eggs in the house or garden, which is a popular game.
• Easter Bunny: The Easter bunny is a symbol of Easter, especially in many Western countries. Traditionally, he brings children Easter eggs and sweets by hiding them in gardens or homes.
• Easter meals: Many families gather for a festive Easter meal, which often includes traditional dishes such as lamb, ham, fish, or other regional specialities.
• Easter fires: In some regions, Easter fires are lit to welcome spring and symbolically dispel the darkness of winter.
• Easter decorations: Decorating homes, churches, and public places with Easter decorations such as daffodils, bunny figures, and spring flowers are widespread.

Annual Easter Bread Tradition with the Ryan Family

For the Ryan's, Easter has been a time of family traditions and sweet treats for over 20 years. One of these traditions is baking Easter bunnies and other Easter figures in the form of delicious Easter bread. The anticipation of this is always particularly great among my children, and every year each of my three daughters shapes her own bunny from the airy yeast dough.

Even as adult children, they still enjoy the fun of baking and, of course, the shared meal. Over the years, many bunnies have been created - from cute Easter bunny faces to standing or sitting bunnies to bunnies with long ears. Sometimes we even bake sweet Easter eggs to complete the variety of our Easter creations. And the ingredients also vary over the years. Guitard's Chocolate Chips are still very popular for giving the bunnies faces and contours. Occasionally, the delicious chocolate chips are replaced by cranberries. Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Paste must never be missing as an ingredient.

 

The individual ingredients are adjusted according to desired dietary habits. So the butter can be replaced with margarine or avocado oil, and the bunny is then lactose-free or even vegan. Gluten-free flour can also be used instead of wheat flour or spelt flour. Vegan milk alternatives are increasingly being used as an alternative to cow's milk. And then there is the question of what to eat with it. Well, American Heritage has many great jams and fruit spreads that are essential on our breakfast table - Wild Maine Blueberry Jam...Cinnamon Apple Jelly and quite un-American sometimes Nutella or an alternative nut cream.

 

Discover our best-selling Jams and Nut Butters! 

For us Ryans, baking our delicious Easter bread is not only a culinary tradition but also an opportunity to spend time together, create memories, and share the joy of Easter. It's a beautiful way to spend time as a family and celebrate the joys of spring. We would like to pass on this joy and therefore share our beloved family recipe:

Ingredients needed for Easter Bread

500 g wheat or spelt flour

42 g fresh yeast

1/4 l lukewarm milk or a plant-based substitute

50 g sugar

1 pinch of salt

75 g butter or margarine

1 egg or egg substitute

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

and milk for brushing and chocolate chips for decorating

 

We crumble the yeast packet into the flour and add some lukewarm milk. Then we mix everything and let the dough rest covered for 15 minutes. Then we sprinkle the sugar and salt on the edge and pour in the remaining milk and the melted butter as well as the beaten egg. From the whole, we knead a smooth dough, which we let rest for another 30 minutes.

Then we roll out the dough to a 1 cm thick dough and cut out bunnies, Easter eggs, or other shapes. We decorate the bunnies with chocolate chips or cranberries. Then we brush our yeast forms with milk and bake them at 200 °C until golden brown.

Our favourite products for this Easter Bread recipe:

Overall, Easter baking is not only a culinary tradition for my family and me, but also a time of shared experience and joy. Every year we look forward to spoiling our loved ones with our delicious Easter treats and creating new memories. I hope that you too can discover the joy of Easter baking and that these recipes bring you as much joy and enjoyment as they do us. Happy Easter and happy baking!

 

Enjoy, 
your Sabine Ryan