Classic Easter Kulich
Description
The baking is simple and quick. If you want to taste a real Easter kulich, you'll need to put in some effort. Kulich requires a generous amount of dough enrichments, sugar, and butter. If you skimp on ingredients, the result will be mediocre. Of course, such a heavy dough requires physical effort—it must be thoroughly kneaded and left to rise. You can enhance the kulich with candied orange peel, which will add a pleasant zest to the pastry. Serve it with tea or coffee.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
To make Easter bread, you will need: eggs, sugar, yeast, candied fruits (or dried fruits), flour, salt, butter, milk, vanilla extract or vanilla.
- 2
Step 2
Crumble the fresh yeast into warm milk.
- 3
Step 3
Add the whipped eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla sugar to the mixture. The eggs should be at room temperature. Cold eggs will significantly cool down the liquid, causing the yeast to become inactive and not work properly.
- 4
Step 4
In a small bowl, melt 120 grams of butter. Cool and add to the liquid.
- 5
Step 5
Sift the flour and knead the dough. I greased my hands with vegetable oil and kneaded for about 15 minutes. By the end of kneading, the dough stopped sticking to my hands.
- 6
Step 6
Transfer the dough to a large bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place.
- 7
Step 7
When the dough has tripled or even quadrupled in size (which will happen in 5–6 hours), it should be punched down and combined with candied fruits or dried fruits. Knead it by hand until the dried fruits are evenly distributed throughout the dough. There's no need to beat or "fluff" the dough.
- 8
Step 8
Grease the molds and fill 40% of each with dough. Let it rise. This will take about 4 hours. The dough will rise faster in a warm place.
- 9
Step 9
Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Bake the kulich in the oven for about 40 minutes. Check for doneness with a skewer.
- 10
Step 10
Decorate the kulich with powdered sugar or with this kind of icing, and serve it cooled.