The season of Lent is coming to a close with the start of Holy Week on Palm Sunday. Easter is just around the corner. In six short days we will celebrate Christ’s Resurrection from the dead and His victory over sin. After fasting well during Lent, and storing up goodness in our hearts, the Easter season will be the beautiful feast it was intended to be.
Now that the season of fasting is wrapping up, I am turning my mind toward the coming feast of Easter. Whatever you have given to the Lord for these last forty days will be returned to you on Easter. For my family, we have given up meat and dairy for a large part of the Lenten season and we are really looking forward to enjoying these delicious and nourishing foods that the Lord has given to us. Let me share with you what I’m planning on making for our Easter Sunday meal as well as some suggestions and inspiration. I’ll also share a special family recipe that is traditional to Easter, which I have converted to sourdough.
Main Dish
Some traditional main dishes for Easter are either ham or lamb. For example, many families celebrate Easter with a roasted leg of lamb. This dish being symbolic of the perfect lamb offered up on Good Friday: Jesus Christ. The symbolic meal centered around a sacrificial lamb reaches all the way back to the ancient Jewish tradition of Passover. Nowadays, many Christians continue this tradition of eating lamb on Easter, which we believe to be the ultimate Passover sacrifice.
It is interesting to me how the Easter ham came about. The dish gained popularity primarily in the Southern United States after the Second World War. Although it was eaten on Easter prior to the middle of the twentieth century, the economic incentive of a hog brought this now-beloved dish into popularity. Hogs are far more economical to produce and per unit of input produce far more meat than lambs. So, slowly but surely, the lamb fell out of favor and was replaced by the good old fashioned hog. Prior to WWII, using ham as an Easter meal was a practical choice as it made use of the preserved meats stored up over winter from a fall-time hog harvest. Moving into spring when stored cuts would need to be eaten, Easter was the perfect opportunity to celebrate with a cured ham.
Although I enjoy lamb, and can tolerate a cured ham, I won’t be going with either of these classic choices for my Easter table. What I have stored in my freezer at the moment is beef, and lots of it. So I’m opting for a hearty chuck roast. “The Poor Man’s Brisket”, a chuck roast is a wonderful way to provide a rich and filling roast on a budget. My favorite way to make chuck roast is to braise it in a tomato based sauce with carrots and onion. Here is a link to the recipe I base my roast on. Trust me, it is delicious! And it works just as well with a chuck roast.
Side Dishes
I try to bring friends and family into our Easter celebrations, so usually we have contributions of side dishes from our guests. This year, we’re having a small group over for Easter, which means I’ll be preparing some side dishes, but I’m going to keep them simple. Staple dishes like roasted vegetables, salads and breads can be spruced up to make them special. This year, I’m going to prepare roasted vegetables tossed in a simple, tangy dressing, a side salad topped with cheeses and fruit, as well as some stuffed sourdough bread.
For drinks, I love to make a lemonade with honey. And this year, I’m planning to add a fermented drink which my family loves from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon Morell. The bubbly, fizzy, orange and raspberry drink will be something fun and special my children will love, while at the same time nourishing their bellies with beneficial cultures.
Dessert
For dessert, my plan is to make a buttermilk chocolate cake. I’m looking forward to something rich and decadent as we go all out on Easter! Icing the cake with a chocolate buttermilk icing and topping with fresh raspberries will be the perfect end to our Easter meal. Plus, we’re bound to have leftovers to carry us through the whole octave of Easter!
To fill Easter Eggs for my children I love to make marshmallows (recipe here) and peanut butter chocolate cups (recipe here). My guilty pleasure is 100% Reece’s Peanut Butter Eggs on Easter, but they are filled with junk. So I make my own at home. They taste delicious and I don’t feel bad letting my little ones eat them.
A Family Recipe
On my father’s side, my family is Portuguese from the Azores. My great grandparents came to the United States and settled in Northern California where they then raised their family. Although my grandmother was born and raised in America, we still maintained some connection to our Portuguese heritage through food. One of the ways we remember our history is through a delicious Easter tradition of Portuguese Sweet Bread or Massa Sovada. There are many variations of this recipe to be found online, but our recipe is a family favorite and has been passed down through the generations. I’ve modified it from it’s original form and adapted it to sourdough.
The original recipe called for 5 pounds of flour and was enough to make 10-12 loaves. I’ve trimmed it down for this post, but I love to reflect of what such a large batch of bread means. Making the full recipe means you would have plenty to share with friends and family. I have never found a shop selling sweet bread in the United States. Rather this bread is made at home for loved ones and friends. Home bakers brought to life huge batches of this delicious bread to share freely. Often around Easter, whole eggs will be baked into the bread as a symbol of the resurrection. And to me, the symbolism of sharing the gospel through freely giving this bread is a wonderful way to celebrate the Easter season.
So, please see the recipe below and try it out yourselves! Let me know what you think of this beautiful Portuguese tradition.
God Bless You!
-McKenna
Sourdough Portuguese Sweet Bread
A traditional Easter loaf made from enriched bread and naturally leavened with sourdough.
The rise times may vary due to a variety of factors like moisture and temperature of your home. Additionally, there are several traditional flavors you can incorporate into this bread. Lemon, vanilla and anise are all great choices.
Ingredients
- Water Roux
- 1/4 of a small potato, peeled and diced
- 2 T warm water
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 T sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) active sourdough starter Dough
- 3 T butter, melted
- 3 eggs, well beaten
- 1/2 t salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup milk, scalded
- 4 3/4 cups(567 grams) flour Flavoring (optional)
- 1/4 T lemon rind, lemon extract, vanilla or anise
Directions
- Boil potato and mash with potato water. Let cool then add 2 T warm water, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup of starter. Mix until a smooth batter forms then set aside in a warm place.
- In a large bowl, add scalded milk, sugar, beaten eggs, butter and flavoring. Mix until combined.
- Mix in the water roux from step 1 until combined.
- Add flour to wet ingredients and mix until a firm dough begins to form.
- Knead until shiny. (If kneading by hand, butter your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers.)
- Cover dough with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm place for 8-10 hours or until doubled.
- Once doubled in size, punch down and let rest for 10 -15 minutes before shaping into rolls, round loaves, or bread pans.
- Once shaped, cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm place approximately doubled in size. (To test, poke with a finger – if the dough springs back quickly, it needs to proof longer. The dimple created by your finger should return slowly when the dough is ready to bake.)
- Bake at 350 F until golden brown. (for rolls 15-20 min, bread 30-45 minutes depending on size.)
Salt and Stone Bakery 
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