Easter time in my family has always meant one thing—baking the softest, most golden loaf of sweet bread that disappears faster than we can slice it. This traditional Easter bread, a beautifully braided yeast bread, has been my family’s recipe for generations, filling the house with the warm scent of vanilla and butter. Whether torn apart by eager hands or carefully sliced and slathered with butter, this Lithuanian Easter Bread is what makes Easter breakfast feel complete.
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Easter Breakfast In Lithuania
In Eastern Europe, Easter celebrations are filled with tradition, symbolism, and, of course, plenty of food. But surprisingly, very little chocolate...
In Lithuania, the Easter table is never complete without beautifully colored Lithuanian Easter eggs, a spread of meats and cheeses, and a loaf of this slightly sweet, pillowy Lithuanian bread. This three-strand braided loaf isn’t just for looks — it represents the Holy Trinity, adding deeper meaning to the holiday feast.
Traditionally, it’s placed on a cutting board, uncut, and only sliced at the table. It's a small ritual that makes Easter morning feel even more special.
Another bread we often make over Easter (that is actually a healthy bread, but we make it purely because it's delicious!) is Lithuanian Farmer’s Cheese Bread With Oats and Seeds.
Ingredient Notes
- strong bread flour: with at least 12% protein content. In Lithuania, all-purpose flour is typically used, but you will get better structure and love rise with stronger flour.
- milk: we used full-cream milk (whole milk). Allow it to come to room temperature or warm it slightly to speed up the proofing process.
- salt.
- unsalted butter: softened.
- sugar: white granulated sugar or caster sugar (a.k.a. superfine sugar) may be used.
- fast-action yeast: a.k.a instant yeast or active dry yeast. Back in the day, fresh yeast was typically used - you will need about 20-25g of it in this recipe. Mix it with warmed milk and sugar and leave it to activate and froth up for 10-15 minutes before combining this milk mixture with the dry ingredients.
- eggs: we use whole eggs in the bread dough and egg yolks for egg wash.
- vanilla bean paste: or seeds from a vanilla pod.
- poppy seeds: or sesame seeds for topping.
FESTIVE ADDITIONS AND EXTRAS: If you fancy making this Lithuanian Easter bread a little bit more festive, add 1 tablespoon of orange zest or a handful of golden raisins. Whilst not typically used in Lithuania, chocolate chips also make a beautiful addition to this sweet Easter bread.
Step-By-Step Method
1. In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, sugar and yeast.
2. Add the wet ingredients: milk, egg and vanilla bean paste (optional), and run your stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook attachment for 5-6 minutes, until well combined.
3. With the stand mixer running, little by little add the softened butter and keep on mixing for 10-12 minutes, until the dough looks glossy and elastic and gathers around the dough hook.
It is ready when you can stretch a small piece of dough so thin, that you can see through it without it tearing - it is known as a windowpane test).
4. Grease a large mixing bowl with a little oil. Shape the bread dough into a ball, and place it into the lightly oiled bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap or a damp towel and leave it in a warm place to rise for 1.5-2 hours. It should double in volume.
5. Knock the air out of the risen dough ball and divide it into 3 equal pieces on a lightly floured surface.
6. Roll each piece of dough into a long string using the palms of your hands to create tension on the work surface.
7. Pinch the ends of the three long ropes together at one end and braid them, tucking the ends under the loaf.
8. Place the loaf onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover it with a lightly oiled sheet of plastic wrap (this will prevent the surface from drying out).
9. Let the shaped dough rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour for its second rise. It should bulk up by about 50%. Do not let it double, or you will not get much oven spring.
10. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 360°F (180°C).
11. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg yolk with a drop of milk or water.
12. Gently brush the top of the braided loaf with egg wash using a pastry brush. Then sprinkle the top with poppy seeds (or sesame seeds).
13. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
14. Leave the loaf to cool down on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes for tearing it, or cool down to room temperature for slicing.
Serving Suggestions
This delicious bread is typically served on Easter morning, often alongside butter, jam, or even a drizzle of honey. While it’s perfect for breakfast, Lithuanians also enjoy it as a snack or dessert — just tear off a piece and savor it with a cup of tea or coffee.
If you have leftovers (which is rare!), there are plenty of different ways to use them, but turning them into rich, golden French toast might just be the best. However you serve it, this traditional loaf never lasts long!
Recipe Tips
- Be prepared for a rather sticky dough (similar to French brioche dough or Italian Easter Bread dough). We highly recommend using a stand mixer, but if you don't have one, you can mix everything in a large bowl before kneading on a kitchen surface (the slap-and-fold kneading method works best here).
- It is highly recommended that the ingredients be measured using a kitchen scale.
- If you are using dried yeast (not instant action yeast), you need to activate the yeast in warmed milk first. Simply heat the milk in a small saucepan to 110°F (43°C), add the sugar and yeast, mix and leave the yeast mixture for 10 minutes until it starts to froth.
- This Easter bread is best on the day when it's baked, but it can be stored in an airtight container and toasted the next day. It also freezes very well.
More Lithuanian Baking Recipes
I hope you enjoyed this Lithuanian Easter bread recipe. For more Lithuanian sweet treats and breads, have a look at some traditional recipes below:
Lithuanian Easter Bread (Mielinė Pynė)
Equipment
- Stand Mixer Fitted With a Dough Hook Attachment
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
- 250 g (2 cups) strong bread flour with at least 12% protein content
- 125 ml (½ cup + 2 tbsp) milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 50 g (1.75 oz) unsalted butter softened
- 40 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 5 g (1 tsp) fast-action yeast a.k.a instant yeast
- 1 egg medium
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste optional
- 1 egg yolk for egg wash
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds or sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, sugar and yeast.
- Add the milk, egg and vanilla bean paste (optional), and run your stand mixer, fitter with a dough hook attachment for 5-6 minutes, until well combined.
- With the stand mixer running, little by little add the softened butter and keep on mixing for 10-12 minutes, until the dough looks glossy and elastic and gathers around the dough hook. It is ready, when you can stretch a small piece of dough so thin, that you can see through it without it tearing - it is known as a windowpane test).
- Grease a large mixing bowl with a little oil. Shape the dough into a ball, and place into to the oiled bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap or darmp kitchen towel and leave it in a warm spot to rise for 1.5-2 hours. It should double in volume.
- Knock the air out of the proofed dough and divide it into 3 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece of dough into a long string using the palms of your hands to create tension on the work surface.
- Pinch the ends of the three dough strings together at one end (see photos above) and braid them, tucking the ends under the loaf.
- Place the loaf onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover it with a lightly oiled sheet of plastic wrap (this will prevent the surface form drying out). Leave the shaped bread to to rise in a warm place for 1 hour. It should bulk up by about 50%. Do not let it double, or you will not get much oven spring.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 360°F (180°C).
- Gently brush the top of the braided loaf with beaten egg yolk. Then sprinkle the top with poppy seeds (or sesame seeds).
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- Leave the loaf to cool down on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes for tearing it, or cool down completely for slicing.
Scotty says
I doubled it, used brownes butter and colored it with beet powder and matcha to make a cute Easter braid! It turned out absolutely wonderful, I can't wait to slice it up for my family tomorrow!
Ieva says
Wonderful idea! I can imagine it looked like a Lithuanian flag when you sliced into it 🙂