Like the resta di Como, the brazadel is a sweet, springtime bread that's popular on Easter. Hailing from Trentino, the individual donut-shaped sweets are topped with pearlized sugar. Local lore states that the brazadel's name derives from how women carried them home from the market by wearing them around their arms like bracelets.
Brazadel Recipe
Serves 6
Skill Level: Intermediate
Time 1 hour and 10 minutes plus 3 hours and 10 minutes rising time
Vegetarian
Ingredients
4 cups '0' or all-purpose flour
11 oz. milk
3½ oz. butter
2½ oz. granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh brewer’s yeast
2 tsp. salt
2 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
rum
lemon
orange
granulated sugar
Mix 3½ oz. flour with the crumbled yeast and 3 oz. milk to create the first dough. Cover it with a cloth and let it rise for 1 hour.
Pour the rest of the flour into a bowl and carve out a well. Add the granulated sugar, then pour the
remaining milk, 1 egg, egg yolks, the grated zest of 1/2 orange and 1/2 lemon, and 2 Tbsp. rum into the center.
Begin to knead and, as soon as the ingredients are combined, add the first leavened dough and salt, then add the softened butter, and knead the dough for at least 10 minutes, until it is completely uniform and elastic.
Let it rise, covered, for 1 hour and 30 minutes, then turn it over on a floured pastry board and divide into 6 pieces.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Shape each piece into 6 balls. Dip your index finger in flour, then pierce each ball in the center, rotating each around your finger, moving it in the air to widen the hole and create a doughnut shape.
Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with 1 beaten egg, and let rise for about 40 minutes.
Brush again with the egg and sprinkle them with the granulated sugar.
Bake for around 30 minutes, placing the tray in the lower part of the oven.\
Recipe: Joëlle Néderlants
Photography: Riccardo Lettieri
Styling: Beatrice Prada