Colomba pasquale

The colomba pasquale is a special type of Italian Easter bread. It is often called the “Easter dove” because it is shaped like a dove bird. This sweet bread is a traditional treat that people enjoy during the Easter season in Italy.

The dough for colomba pasquale is made with flour, eggs, sugar, natural yeast, and butter. Unlike another famous Italian sweet bread called panettone, colomba pasquale usually has candied peel but no raisins. Before baking, the bread is often topped with pearl sugar and almonds, and some versions are covered in chocolate.

The colomba pasquale was first made and sold in the 1930s by a man named Dino Villani. He worked for a company in Milan called Motta, which was already well known for making panettone during Christmas. Villani thought it would be a good idea to create an Easter version using the same ingredients and equipment. The owner of Motta, Angelo Motta, shared the new bread with writers and journalists, and it became very popular. Later, another Milan company named Vergani began making colomba pasquale in 1944.