The Easter dove, 
(the simple one, but…)

When I published the photos of my Easter doves on Facebook I didn't expect so many appreciations; also because, let's face it, large leavened products are certainly not one of my specialties.

Moreover, these doves hide a trick:
a decidedly simplified recipe that allows you to obtain a decidedly tasty result with relatively little effort. ?

In fact, for this dough I use my tried and tested recipe for the Venetian one, a decidedly minimal version that does not include candied fruit, chocolate chips or anything else: only the essentials.

A preparation in any case that requires a minimum of patience and waiting times: to start in the late afternoon and which will be worked again, after an initial leavening at room temperature and overnight in the fridge, the following day.

There are some considerations to be made for this type of dessert, at least for home preparation.

1 - I have personally seen that using very large molds does not always allow for optimal cooking: we are using normal home ovens!
For the dove, I believe that the best results are obtained with molds of half a kilo of dough if you can find any type on the market. I use those of corrugated parchment paper to my full satisfaction and that of my guests.

2 – In the recipe I indicate various aromatic ingredients (citrus peel, vanilla, etc.); certainly a richer flavor can be obtained by adding, in the last phase of the dough, halfway through the processing, a commercial preparation – typical meridian - or one home as indicated in the notes.
It is better to have it ready in the fridge from the day before.
NB I prepare it in moderate quantities and keep it in the freezer in ice cube trays…

3 – The simplest decoration, for this dessert as for the Venetian one, is obtained by brushing with beaten egg and then covering with granulated sugar.
If you want a tastier covering, you can opt for an almond glaze, then completed with plenty of granulated sugar.
Wanting to exaggerate, also decorate with almonds tied with a little of the icing!

At this point, and starting as always with the ingredients, let's get to work!

Ingredients:

Preparation:

First, melt the butter in a double boiler (or in a saucepan over very low heat) and let it cool down.

Dissolve the yeast in the slightly warm milk.

In a small bowl, place the whole eggs with the sugar and whisk them for a long time (possibly with an electric whisk), as if to prepare a Genoese pasta, until doubled in volume; the ideal would be to have the eggs at room temperature and mount them by holding the bowl close to a heat source or even suspended for the first two minutes over a pot with boiling water.

Pour in the now cooled melted butter and mix again with a whisk.

Complete with the milk in which the yeast has been dissolved, mix and ...

... possibly pass into the bowl of the mixer (leaf hook) gradually adding the flour mixed with the salt and well sieved.

As soon as the flour has been absorbed, pass gradually at an increasingly higher speed (it will take about ten minutes) until the dough tends to detach from the bowl (in practice it will be well strung).

Collect the dough into a ball and put it in a bowl at least three times the volume of the dough previously greased with oil.

Cover well with plastic (I use a plastic bag sealed with a clothespin ...) and let it rise in a warm place and away from drafts for at least a couple of hours: the dough must at least double.

Put the bowl in the fridge for the night.

In the morning remove the bowl from the fridge and turn the dough over onto the work surface dusted with flour and knead it with your hands (or better with tarot cards) giving two or three turns of folds.

Form a ball (or two if you prepared the dough for two moulds) and then, gently, pull it around the edges to give it a slightly cross shape: it will be easier to distribute it in the mould!
Put it in the mold adapting it to the shape, beat an egg yolk (keep the egg white aside, it will be used for the icing!) in a bowl and use it to brush all over the dough.
*** Egg yolk: omit this last step if you have opted for the simple decoration based on egg and granulated sugar. ***

Close well in a plastic bag and place for a couple of hours in the turned off oven. It should rise until it reaches the edges of the mold.

During cooking, if you opted for the glaze, whip the egg white until stiff with the icing sugar and then complete, stirring constantly with a whisk, with the almond flour.

Take the mold back from the oven (or where it was left for the final leavening) and get ready to decorate the dove while the (static) oven is heating up to 200°.

Brush with the icing and then generously cover with granulated sugar (whoever wishes can also add almonds, tied with a little icing).

As soon as the oven is heated, put it in the oven and let it cook for 45 minutes.

If at one point the surface tends to color too much (after about 25'), place an aluminum sheet over it.

Once the cooking time has elapsed, turn off the oven and open it completely for one minute; then leave the dove in it for another ten minutes with the oven semi-open.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Sprinkle, if you like, with icing sugar, and wait, before slicing, for the dove to be completely cooled!

The consistency of the dough will be soft, light and spongy

Have fun and enjoy your meal!

ADVICES AND NOTES:

•  Recipe, text only: to print or download.
• Orange zest and lemon zest, as well as vanilla, depend a lot, as dosage, on personal taste, or...
• homemade aroma recipe type MERIDAN, mix together the night before and store in the fridge:
  - 4 CTs. marsala
  - 1 ct. salt
  - 4 CTs. honey
  - 1 CT. orange zest
  - 1 CT. Lemon peel
  - ½ ct. pure vanilla
    1 CT. of flavoring is enough for half a kilo of flour 
• See also: The Gugelhupf, Venetian, easy and within everyone's reach , Venetians, the small ones, for a snack.

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