Sweet Bread

Italy

Schiacciata di Pasqua is a traditional sweet bread hailing from Tuscany. This fluffy sweet bread is flavored with aniseed, and once it's sliced, the aroma of aniseed fills the room. The ingredients include flour, sugar, butter, olive oil, eggs, yeast, aniseed, vin santo, Sambuca or Strega liqueur, honey, salt, grated orange rind, and grated lemon rind. Schiacciata di Pasqua should ideally be prepared on Good Friday so that it's ready for Easter Sunday. The process of preparation is long, and originally this sweet bread was a 19th-century tradition of using up the abundance of eggs in springtime. Once baked, enjoy it by dunking a piece in a glass of vin santo.

Schiacciata di Pasqua

The name of this sweet German bread that translates as snail cake was inspired by its shape since it consists of numerous rolls neatly placed in a pan, whose final shape is reminiscent of snail shells. The base of the bread is prepared with a brioche-like dough that is shaped into rolls. Each roll usually consists of various fillings such as vanilla-flavored custard, cinnamon butter, fruit, raisins, poppy seeds, or marzipan. When baked, the bread is glazed or dusted with powdered sugar. In Alsace, the dish is better known as chinois.

Schneckenkuchen

Switzerland

Schoggiweggli is a traditional sweet bun that is made throughout the country but bears a strong connection with Basel. This sweet bread filled with chocolate chunks was invented in 1975 by Anton Bachmann of Confiserie Bachmann, and nowadays it's sold in numerous bakeries and stores in the city. Schoggiweggli is usually made with a combination of flour, yeast, sugar, salt, butter, milk, and dark chocolate. The dough is divided, shaped into balls, and baked until golden brown. Before baking, the bread is cut on top as if to reveal the chocolate that was hidden on the inside. It's recommended to enjoy schoggiweggli for breakfast or as an afternoon treat.

Schoggiweggli

Scone is a quick bread that is shaped into various forms such as squares, diamonds, and triangles, then baked in the oven. Although scones were griddle-baked and made with oats in the past, today they are traditionally made with wheat flour, baking powder or soda, butter, milk, sugar, and eggs. They can be either savory or sweet, consumed for breakfast, or served with afternoon tea. The most popular theory about their origin says they originated in Scotland in the early 1500s, the name scones derived from the Stone of Destiny, where the Kings of Scotland used to be crowned. This theory is supported by the fact that the first known reference in print regarding scones appeared in 1513, in the poems of a Scottish poet. Today, most of the English scones are plain, relying on the addition of jam, lemon curd, or honey for extra flavor, but there are also some decadent varieties with cranberries, nuts, chocolate bits, and dates.

Scone

Singing hinny is a dish of griddle-cooked cakes with currants dispersed throughout them. The cakes typically consist of flour, butter, milk or buttermilk, baking powder, sugar, and salt. The name singing hinny is derived from two words &ndash; hinny, a term of endearment meaning honey, while singing refers to the sizzling sound that the cakes make when cooked in a griddle pan. It is recommended to serve singing hinnies with a sprinkle of sugar, or smear them with butter.

Singing Hinny

Sportella is a traditional cake hailing from Elba. This sweet bread is made with flour, sugar, butter, eggs, milk, lemon zest, baking powder, and anise seeds. The dough is rolled into a long cylinder that's shaped into a horsehoe, and the two ends are then connected and crossed over before being brushed with egg yolks, sprinkled with nib sugar and baked. Sportella is supposed to represent the female sexual symbol and it has a very ancient tradition &ndash; during the Festa della Sportella, on Easter Monday, sportella is blessed and given by girlfriends to their boyfriends (don't worry, the girls've gotten their cake called cerimito yesterday, on Palm Sunday, and sportella is usually just an answer to yesterday's love proposals).

Sportella

Germany

Stollen is one of German Christmas classics. This rich fruit bread is prepared with a buttery and sweet yeast dough that is usually spiced, lemon-flavored, and enriched with various dried fruits and marzipan. Though it may appear in different forms, it is usually oblong and covered with generous amounts of melted butter and powdered sugar. Among the different varieties, Dresdner stollen is considered as the oldest and the most popular version, whose origins date back to the 15th century. Originally, stollen was plain and prepared only with flour, yeast, and oil, and it was only in 1490, when the Pope Innocent VIII lifted the ban on baking with butter during Advent, that the stollen started to develop into a dense and rich cake that is known today.

Stollen

Netherlands

Suikerbrood is a sweet, sticky Dutch bread that is traditionally prepared during the Easter festivities in the country. The dough is made with flour, yeast, and water, with large amounts of sugar added into it. The bread can be flavored with ingredients such as cinnamon or ginger, and it is often sliced and consumed with butter. Suikerbrood is also often gifted to parents after a baby's birth.

Suikerbrood

Tsoureki is a traditional Easter bread characterized by its braided shape, which can be either circular or elongated like a loaf. Tradition says that tsoureki should be braided in three strands - one for each aspect of the Trinity. The bread is usually made with milk, eggs, butter, and flavorings such as mahleb, orange zest, cardamom, and vanilla. After baking, it should be moist, tender, and soft, yet chewy. It is often served with a red-dyed egg on top of it, although it can sometimes be baked together with scarlet-colored eggs, representing the blood of Christ and resurrection. Tsoureki has been prepared in Greece since ancient times, and is traditionally served at the breaking of Lent. Loaves of tsoureki are typically exchanged among Greeks on Easter Sunday as a sign of good will and friendship. Today, there are numerous variations of the bread in Turkey, Armenia, Romania, and Bulgaria, all of them especially good when paired with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Tsoureki

Traditionally prepared for Christmastime, v&aacute;nočka is a braided brioche-like bread that is typically flavored with rum and lemon zest, although it is often made with the addition of raisins and almonds. The name of this delicacy stems from V&aacute;noce, the Czech word for Christmas, while the bread is said to symbolize baby Jesus lying in a manger, snugly wrapped in cloth strips. Interestingly, when making v&aacute;nočka, it is a custom to jump up and down and think of dear friends and family members while the dough is rising.

Vánočka

Vasilopita is a Greek New Year's cake with a coin or a trinket baked inside of it. The cake is enriched with a sweet flavoring, symbolizing the sweetness and joy of life and hope that the New Year will be abundant in health and happiness. Traditionally, the cake is cut by a senior member of the family, and whoever receives the piece with a coin inside is thought to be blessed in the following year. Each piece is cut in honor of someone or something: the first piece for Jesus Christ, the second for Virgin Mary, and the third for St. Basil, since the cake is named after him. It is believed that St. Basil wanted to give money to the poor, and in order for it not to look like charity, he asked a woman to bake a bread in which he placed several gold coins, so the poor families were pleasantly surprised when they found coins inside the bread. Today, there are numerous versions of the cake that are also prepared in Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Romania, each one with a coin inside, but unassociated with St. Basil.

Vasilopita

Portugal

Velhote is a traditional sweet bread from the village of Valadares in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, known for its square shape. It is made with eggs, sugar, margarine, and flour and is typically served during local festivities like the Sr. dos Aflitos Feast in July. The dough is shaped into a roll and assembled to resemble a rectangle, and once baked, dusted with powdered sugar. The recipe, dating back to the 1880s, was created by Maria Francisca da Silva, a woman from Braga, and has since evolved. The bread&rsquo;s unique flavor comes from ingredients like cinnamon, lemon juice, and occasionally saffron. It is celebrated by a local gastronomic brotherhood dedicated to preserving this culinary tradition.