Saturday, April 23, 2011

Russian Easter Bread.



Easter has gone by so quickly, and yesterday I realised that if I didn't get on with my Easter baking soon, I'd miss the whole holiday, and have to wait a whole year to try out all my recipes. I did a bit of research (because I can be a bit nerdy at time) on all the traditional easter food and found this gem. Its a Russian easter bread, and its quite similar to hot cross buns in flavour (spices and dried fruit and what not.) I know it looks intimidating to make, but really it was quite easy. Give it a go, because is so pretty and festive.

You will need:
  • 14g dried yeast
  • 1/3 cup of caster sugar
  • 3 and 1/3 cup plain flour
  • 1tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup of sultanas
  • Zest of one orange
  • 4 eggs
  • 150ml of milk
  • 60g, soft butter
For the eggs:
  • Four eggs
  • 2 tsp of red food colouring.
What to do:
  1. In a small bowl mix one teaspoon of sugar, and the yeast with 50ml of warm water (don't make the water too hot or it will kill the yeast, just nice and warm.) Leave for 15 minutes until it gets all bubbly.
  2. In a large bowl sift your flour sugar and cinnamon. Add 3 of the eggs (one is used for a glaze later), butter, fruit, zest, milk and bubbly yeast mix.
  3. Give the mix a good stir and then turn out onto a floured surface and knead for five minutes.
  4. Place in a bowl, cover with a tea towel and put somewhere warm to rise. Leave it for about an hour or until its doubled in size
  5. While waiting for this, place your eggs and food die in a pot of cold water, bring to the boil, and then let simmer for 10 minutes. Switch off the heat and leave until the water has cooled.
  6. When the dough has risen enough, punch it in the middle (this is called knocking back the dough) and then separate it into two.
  7. Plat the two pieces of dough and place the loaf on a tray lined with grease proof paper. Cover it with cling wrap and leave in a warm place again for an hour to rise.
  8. It should double in size again! Heat your oven to 190.
  9. Push the coloured eggs into the bread. Beat an egg, and brush over the whole loaf. Cook for 25 minutes, or until....cooked

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