This recipe uses dried yeast to produce a Greek bread wreath that not only tastes delicious, but also provides an attractive decoration for your Easter table. You could also make the wreath as a gift for a person who is giving the chocolate eggs and bunnies a miss this year. 

Fortunately, yeast baking is practically a piece of cake now that dried yeast is readily available: it comes in small sachets (from supermarkets) and has a long shelf life, so add economical and convenient to its attributes.

For optimum flavour, eat your Greek Easter bread on the day it's made.

To make the bread: here's how

1 Put milk, butter, orange rind and sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Heat until butter has melted and small bubbles form around the edge of the saucepan. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

2 Whisk yeast with the warm water and 1 teaspoon extra sugar in a large bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes or until frothy. Whisk in the warm milk mixture and egg until combined. Sift together the flour, salt and cardamom. Stir in 2 cups of sifted flour mixture until milk mixture is smooth, adding more, quarter-cup at a time, until the dough is firm but not dry. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until dough is elastic. Put in a lightly oiled bowl and brush top with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and stand in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Preheat oven to 200ºC. Line a large oven tray with baking paper.

3 Punch down the dough and knead for 1 minute. Divide dough into thirds and roll each third into a sausage shape, about 48cm long. Plait the 3 pieces and form into a wreath. Trim the edges and press together to join. Put wreath on prepared baking tray. Position dyed eggs on the top.

4 Cover wreath and stand for 20 minutes or until well risen. Brush with extra egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds and extra sugar. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Wreath should sound hollow when tapped with your knuckles. Stand on a wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.

To make the coloured eggs

Put 6-12 fresh white eggs in a large saucepan of cold water and bring to a simmer. Simmer (do not boil) eggs for 15-20 minutes or until hard-boiled. Do not cook over a high heat as the eggs may crack. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon.

Discard the hot water from the pan. Put 7 cups warm water, 6 tablespoons white vinegar and 1-2 tablespoons powdered red food colouring in the pan, stir to combine. Return the eggs to the pan and stand until eggs are the desired colour - from 20 minutes to two hours.

Remove the eggs from the dye and dry on a wire rack. Do not refrigerate, as condensation will form on the eggs, and this can cause blotches. You can use the extra eggs as Easter decorations for the home.

Note: The red eggs are for decoration only. They can't be stored in the fridge so are unsuitable for consumption.