Easter kulich
Description
Homemade pastry for tea. Easter kulich is a traditional Christian baked good, always served during the celebration of Easter. After the Great Lent, one should break the fast specifically with an Easter kulich that has been blessed during the church service. In my opinion, Easter kulich is something you must prepare yourself rather than buy from a store, as the very process of baking kulich holds a certain ritual significance for all believers. For those who agree with me and plan to bake kulich at home, I am sharing this quite simple recipe for making Easter kulich. I hope you will find it useful. Have a wonderful holiday! Serve warm or cooled. Perfect with tea.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients. Warm the milk to 40 degrees. Melt the butter over a water bath. Separate one egg white and put it in the refrigerator—later it will be used to make icing for the Easter bread.
- 2
Step 2
Prepare the starter. To do this, dissolve the yeast and one teaspoon of sugar in warm milk. Add a couple of tablespoons of flour, mix and cover with a dry towel. Let the starter sit in a warm place for 15 minutes.
- 3
Step 3
After 15 minutes, a foam cap should form on the starter, which means the yeast has "activated" and the starter is ready.
- 4
Step 4
Add the remaining sugar, eggs, and melted butter to the sponge. Mix well.
- 5
Step 5
Add the flour, turmeric, and vanilla sugar in parts.
- 6
Step 6
Knead a soft dough. Cover it with a clean, dry towel and let it sit in a warm place for 2 hours.
- 7
Step 7
After two hours, the dough has risen three to four times. Press it down with your hands. It will be sticky, very aromatic, and sweet. At this stage, you can add any dried fruits, nuts, seeds, etc. to the kulich.
- 8
Step 8
Grease the molds with any cooking fat or refined vegetable oil. Fill them halfway with dough, no more— the dough rises well! Let the loaves rest for 20–25 minutes. Bake the loaves at 180°C (30–40 minutes), keep an eye on them.
- 9
Step 9
Now make the icing. Using a mixer on high speed, beat the chilled egg white until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the powdered sugar and lemon juice, and mix until the icing becomes smooth and uniform.
- 10
Step 10
Brush the cooled Easter breads generously with icing, sprinkle with decorative sprinkles on top. Easter breads are ready! Happy Easter to you!