Colomba pasquale or colomba di Pasqua ("Easter Dove" in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

) is an Italian traditional

Easter bread In many European countries, there are various traditions surrounding the use of bread during the Easter holidays. Traditionally the practice of eating Easter bread or sweetened "communion" bread traces its origin back to Byzantium and the Orthodo ...

, the counterpart of the two well-known Italian

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

desserts,

panettone Panettone (, ; lmo, label= Milanese, panetton ) is an Italian type of sweet bread, and fruitcake, originally from Milan, usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Western, Southern, and Southeastern Europe as well as in South ...

and pandoro. The dough for the colomba is made in a similar manner to panettone, with

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cul ...

, eggs,

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

, natural yeast and

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condim ...

; unlike panettone, it usually contains candied peel and no

raisins A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the dar ...

. The dough is then fashioned into a

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

shape (''colomba'' in Italian) and finally is topped with

pearl sugar Nib sugar (also pearl sugar and hail sugar) is a product of refined white sugar. The sugar is very coarse, hard, opaque white, and does not melt at temperatures typically used for baking. The product usually is made by crushing blocks of white s ...

and

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genu ...

s before being baked. Some manufacturers produce other versions including a popular bread topped with chocolate. Chocolate version of Panettone The colomba was commercialised by the Milanese baker and businessman

Angelo Motta Angelo Motta (8 September 1890 – 26 December 1957) was an Italian entrepreneur, founder of the food company . He is associated with the commercial production of the sweet yeast bread panettone Panettone (, ; lmo, label=Milanese, panetton ) ...

as an Easter version of the Christmas speciality panettone that Motta foods were producing.

References

Sweet breads Yeast breads Easter bread Italian breads Italian desserts Almond dishes Easter traditions in Italy {{Italy-cuisine-stub

See also

References