Easter bread with saffron
Description
Perfectly pairs with tea and coffee. Saffron will give your Easter bread a very original and unusual, rich flavor that is hard to describe in words—better to try it yourself. Essentially, this is a classic Easter bread recipe, with the only difference being the addition of saffron to the dough. The most important thing is to use genuine saffron, not a fake—otherwise, it won't taste as good. I hope you'll enjoy and find useful this saffron Easter bread recipe. Good luck! :) Serve with tea or coffee.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Pour the alcohol into a bowl with saffron, cover, and let sit for several hours. Next, prepare the starter. Heat the water (100 ml) and add 1/3 of the cream, then dissolve the yeast in the mixture.
- 2
Step 2
Now, add sugar (1 tbsp) and flour (150 g). Knead until a smooth dough forms. Place in a warm spot for one hour.
- 3
Step 3
Meanwhile, rub half of the remaining sugar into the butter (previously melted).
- 4
Step 4
Rub the remaining sugar with the yolks.
- 5
Step 5
When the starter is ready, add: butter, egg yolks, cream, cardamom, saffron (with alcohol), and salt. Mix and gradually add flour. Knead until a soft dough forms.
- 6
Step 6
Cover the resulting dough with a towel and let it rise in a warm place. This may take about 2 hours (the volume, as with any yeast dough, should double).
- 7
Step 7
When the dough has risen, punch it down and transfer it to a floured work surface. Knead for 10 minutes, adding nuts, raisins, and candied fruits.
- 8
Step 8
Grease the molds with butter and dust with flour. Fill the molds one-third full with dough and place them in a warm spot for 40 minutes. Then, put the molds into a preheated oven (170°C) and bake for 40–50 minutes. Do not open the oven during the first half hour. Once the kuliches are ready, you can cover them with icing (the unused egg whites from the recipe are perfect for the icing). Apply the icing only after the kuliches have cooled completely.