Kosuniak Easter Bread
Recipe Description
Macedonian Easter breadIngredients
- 10 full cups flour|all purpose flour (about 3½ lbs)
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups granulated sugar|sugar
- rind of 1 lemon
- ½ lb butter melted (reserve 4 tbsp.)
- 4 tsp granulated sugar|sugar
- 1½ cups warm water
- 4 pkg. active dry yeast|dry yeast
- 6 eggs, well beaten
- 1 cup flour + 2 cups flour for kneading
- 1 egg beaten, for topping
- sesame seeds for topping
- Heat oven to 200 °F and shut off.
- Measure 10 cups flour in a large shallow pan; push to sides to leave a hole in centre.
- In a small saucepan mix 2 cups milk, 2 cups granulated sugar|sugar and lemon rind. Warm to melt granulated sugar|sugar.
- In a large bowl, prepare yeast by mixing 4 tsp granulated sugar|sugar with 1½ cups warm water, sprinkle yeast on top, cover and set aside.
- Add butter to milk mixture, stir.
- Beat eggs with electric mixer for 2 minutes, add to milk mixture and stir.
- Begin to mix dough by pouring ½ of milk mixture into the centre of the flour, bringing in flour from all sides by hand; continue adding remaining liquid.
- Stir yeast and add to dough, mixing with hand as before.
- Keep dough soft, use both hands and add about 1 cup flour.
- Knead slightly and turn out on heavily floured table.
- Knead for about 10 minutes, then cut slashes with a knife in several places (this allows more air to get in dough)
- Add about 2 cups more of flour, kneading as you work.
- Cut through twice more while kneading about 5 minutes longer. Total kneading time is about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Use 4 tablespoons reserved butter when called for hereafter.
- Lightly grease a warm roasting pan with butter.
- Lightly grease a clean table top and turn dough once so that all is lightly covered with butter.
- Place greased dough in pan; butter top with fingertips, so that no crust will form.
- Cover with cloth and let rise 1 to 1½ hours in warmed oven.
- Butter 4 loaf pans.
- Turn dough onto buttered table and cut into 12 equal strips, 3 at a time, about 9 inches long and 2 inches in diameter.
- Twirl slightly, braid and tuck ends under and place in loaf pans.
- Pat evenly on top and touch with butter.
- Cover and let rise 1 hour until double in bulk in oven.
- Remove from oven and heat oven to 300 °F.
- Beat 1 egg and brush loaves; sprinkle with sesame seeds, bake for 1 hour.
- Loaves should be light brown on bottom, and deep brown on top.
- When making a double recipe divide into two parts after mixing together all ingredients and before kneading to make baking easier.
This article uses material from the "Kosuniak Easter Bread" article on the Recipes wiki at Wikia and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License
