Greek Easter Bread

Greek Easter bread is braided and contains hard boiled eggs, dyed red for fertility, symbolizing the Resurrection of Christ.

 

A funny thing happened on the way to the family Easter dinner...

I started making this bread Saturday morning to take to my family's Easter celebration that afternoon. I was running late so I decided to let it rise in the car and bake it once I got to my sister's house. I had to hold onto the baking pan to keep the loaf from sliding off. It slid a couple of times and I was able to catch it. I kept saying "will you just cooperate?". It decided to have the last word. It slid completely off the seat. I couldn't catch in time. It stayed on the parchment and was still covered, but it was ruined.

I was soooo mad that I balled the dough up and threw it down on the baking pan. I decided I didn't care. We just wouldn't have any bread for dinner. I kept driving down the road mad at the world. Then, I started laughing my head off at myself.  You can’t get mad at bread. It was then that I realized I could just reshape it and let is rise again. So that's what I did.

The moral of the story is when you think all is lost, it usually isn't. You just need to laugh and try again!

 

Greek Easter Twist
Makes: 2 Loaves
From Breads from Betsy's Kitchen by Betsy Oppenneer.

Ingredients:

• 2 scant tablespoons or 2 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
• 1 cup warm milk (about 110 degrees)
• 1 cup soft butter
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon crushed anise seed
• 1 tablespoon orange peel
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 to 7 cups unbleached flour
• 8 to 12 hard-boiled eggs, dyed bright red
  

Glaze

• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• Coarse sugar or sesame seeds

 

Preparation:

1) Hard boil 8 to 12 eggs. I used about 8 eggs but you can use more if you like.

2) Dye the eggs red. I've never dyed Easter eggs red before. Very interesting and beautiful!

Directions:

Stir the yeast into warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the milk, butter, eggs, honey, anise seed, orange peel, salt, and 3 cups flour and beat vigorously for two minutes.

Gradually add in the flour, 1/4 cup a a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead, adding flour a little at a time, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.

Put dough into an oiled bowl and turn to coat it with oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size, about one hour.



Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface and divide in four pieces.




Shape each fourth into a 30-inch strand.




Twist strands together and pinch the ends together.





Spread the dough and insert four to six eggs evenly spaced between the strands.  Place onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining two strands.




Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

About 10 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Just before baking, brush each loaf lightly with the glaze and sprinkle with the coarse sugar or seeds.





Bake for 25 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the loaf reaches 190 degrees. Immediately remove the bread from baking sheets and cool on a wire rack.

This is the loaf I took to my sister's house. It turned out great even though I had to reshape it.




This is the second loaf that I made a couple of days later. I put the dough in the refrigerator and took it out 2 days later and let it rise at room temperature before shaping. It did just fine. It amazes me how forgiving a lot of breads are. We should be more like that!




Happy Baking!
Cathy

Kulich: Russian Easter Bread

Kulich, is a Russian Easter Bread that is usually made with a baba dough, but with more sugar, and added candied peel, almonds, raisins, and saffron. The top is iced and decorated, usually with Cyrillic letters standing for 'Christ is risen'.

"Traditionally during the Easter service, the kulich, which has been put into a basket and decorated with colorful flowers, is blessed by the priest. Leftover kulich that isn't blessed is eaten with Paskha for dessert. Blessed kulich is eaten before breakfast each day. It is baked in tall, cylindrical tins (like coffee or fruit juice tins), and when cooled is decorated with white icing (which is slightly drizzled down the sides), colorful flowers, and XB (the traditional Easter greeting of Христос воскресе, "Christ is Risen") is decorated on the side. Kulich is only eaten during the 40 days after Paskha (Easter) until Pentecost."

 ---This information is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Kulich"

According to Peter Reinhart, Dresden stollen, Milan panettone, Russian kulich, and English hot cross buns can all be made from this same multipurpose holiday bread formula. The difference is in the way the bread is shaped, baked and decorated.

For this version, we'll use the master formula and add dried apricots, almonds, and golden raisins rather than the candied peel and saffron. Then, we'll drizzle the top of the baked bread with a powdered sugar glaze and decorate it with colored sprinkles.

All-Purpose Holiday Bread

Adapted from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

Makes: 1 very large loaf, several small loaves, or up to 24 hot cross buns

This formula utilizes a sponge. The sponge is similar to a poolish except it is made with buttermilk. Although you can use other types of milk, buttermilk gives the dough the best flavor.

Note: After 1 hour of fermentation, you can retard the dough for up to 24 hours.

Ingredients:

Sponge:

• 3/4 cup (3.5 ounces) unbleached bread flour
• 2 teaspoons (0.25 ounce) instant yeast
• 1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk, at room temperature

Dough:

• 4 1/3 cups (19.5 ounces) unbleached bread flour
• 1/3 cup (2.25 ounces) sugar
• 1 teaspoon (0.25 ounce) salt
• 5 large eggs (8 ounces), cold
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
• 11.75 ounces sponge; use all

Additional Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup rum or orange juice concentrate
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup sliced almonds or walnuts
• 1/4 cup multicolored candy sprinkles
• Cooking spray

Directions:

To make the sponge:

Stir together the flour and yeast in a mixing bowl. Then stir in the buttermilk and mix till smooth. Cover the sponge with plastic wrap and allow it to ferment at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, till very bubbly.

Soak the dried fruit in rum and/or vanilla in a bowl while the sponge is developing.

To make the dough:

Combine all the other dough ingredients and the sponge in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Mix the dough on slow speed for 1 minute, then on medium speed for 5 minutes.

Add the fruit and nut mixture and mix for an additional 2 minutes, or until the dough is soft and tacky. Add water if the dough is too stiff or flour if it is too sticky.

Spray the dough with cooking spray, cover it with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes. The dough should increases in size by 1 1/2 times.

Forming the Kulich:

This formula makes one large kulich. Generously spray the inside of a clean coffee can or other can with cooking spray. To make a large kulich, you will need a 2-pound coffee can. You can also use smaller cans, such as tuna fish cans to make a bunch of cute baby kulich's if you prefer. Fill each can slightly more than halfway with a ball of dough. Let the dough rise till it comes just above the rim of the can.



The dough may take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours to rise enough, depending on the warmth of the room. I used a 2-pound coffee can. It was a little chilly so it took about 4 hours for the dough to rise.

Baking the Kulich:

Bake the loaf at 325°F till the top begins to brown, 20 to 40 minutes depending on the size. The bread will have crowned above the can and mushroomed slightly over the edge.

The dough that is exposed will bake much faster than the rest of the loaf, so cover the top with aluminum foil and continue to bake it for about 15 minutes longer, till the center reaches 185°F. Turn off the oven and allow it to bake another 5 minutes.




Allow the kulich to cool in the can for about 10 minutes. When it is no longer hot but still warm to the touch, carefully remove the loaf, taking care not to separate the crown from the base (tap the sides of the can if necessary). Cool on rack.



Decorate the crown with lemon or orange sugar glaze (recipe follows), and sprinkle golden raisins, chopped dried apricots, sliced almonds, and/or colorful candy sprinkles into the glaze as it drips down the side of the loaf. Use golden-colored fruit to symbolize Christ's resurrection.


Making the sugar glaze:

Whisk together 1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar and 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons hot water into a paste that is thick but still can be drizzled on the bread. You can also add a few drops of lemon, orange, vanilla, or almond extract. A thinner sugar glaze can be brushed on by adding a little corn syrup and a few drops of milk.

Some people like to drizzle the glaze from a fork in streaky little lines. Others prefer to brush it on with a pastry brush to coat the whole piece.

Why don’t I have a photo of the finished bread? 

Well, you win some and you lose some. My loaf would not come out of the pan. It seems that using a coffee can is not as foolproof as other methods. I'll have to investigate further and let you know how to avoid the same fate. In the meantime, I have some yummy crumbs and broken pieces of bread that taste really good, but don't make such a pretty picture.

Note: I found a solution to the problem of the loaf sticking in the coffee can after it is baked. You have to get rid of the rim at the top.  To do this, I removed the bottom of the pan using a can opener, then I let the bottom fall to the top so that it was resting on the rim (which was now at the bottom).  If you decide to try this method, please be careful of the rough edges.


Happy Baking!
Cathy

Whole Wheat Scones

These whole wheat scones are also known as Pilgrim Scones. The combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flours, honey, buttermilk and raisins makes these scones delicious as well as nutritious.

The scones are also very easy to make. If you're looking for an easy scones' recipe that doesn't use heavy cream or lard, try this one. I think you’ll be pleased.

Recipe for Pilgrim Scones

The recipe for these scones is found in a community cookbook called "What's Cooking at the Library?" sponsored by the Gwinnett County Public Library System. The cookbook is dedicated to the fight for the cure for cancer.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cup white flour
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients and raisins together. In large bowl, mix egg, honey and buttermilk. Add flour mixture to egg mixture in 3 parts, alternating with melted butter. Make a big ball.





Cut into thirds. Make the thirds into flat balls. Cut these into fourths.





Place the cut pieces onto a greased baking sheet.




Bake them for 10 minutes at 425 degrees F. then lower to 350 degrees F. and bake until brown.




Cool the scones on a wire rack before serving.




Now, all you need to do is try these yummy scones yourself and let me know how you like them!





Happy Baking!
Cathy

Walnut Buttermilk Scones

These Walnut Buttermilk Scones are delicious! The buttermilk provides the moisture, the walnuts add a little crunchiness and the creamy cinnamon sugar topping puts them over the edge. Simply wonderful!

The actual name of the scones is "Spicy Walnut Buttermilk Scones" but my taste tester said they should be called "Delicious" so that's what I decided to call them.

The scones have a rather dense consistency and are made even more so by the chopped walnuts. If you prefer something different, you can substitute seedless dark raisins, dried currants, or chopped citrus rind for the nuts. You can also substitute various spices for the cinnamon.

I really like the combination of the walnuts and cinnamon, but I think these would also taste good with dried currants or raisins in addition to the walnuts and cinnamon. My son suggested that so I think I'll try that next time.

Walnut Buttermilk Scones
The recipe for these wonderful scones is from Biscuit Bliss: 101 Foolproof Recipes for Fresh and Fluffy Biscuits in Just Minutes by James Villas.

Makes: 1 dozen

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled butter, cut into bits
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter and work it in quickly with your fingertips until the mixture is crumbly. Add the buttermilk and walnuts. Stir just till the dry ingredients are moistened.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead about 8 times. Divide the dough in half.




Pat each half into a circle about 3/4 inch thick. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Arrange the wedges on the prepared baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart.




In a small bowl, combine the cream, cinnamon, and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, and stir until well blended. Brush the tops of the wedges with the mixture





Bake in the center of the oven till golden, 12 to 15 minutes.  Cool slightly.





Happy Baking!
Cathy

 

Irish Freckle Bread

I’m celebrating St. Patrick's Day by making Irish Freckled Bread. It is referred to as freckled bread because of the raisins or currants that are sprinkled throughout.

This particular recipe uses yeast rather than baking soda and potato water rather than buttermilk. It produces a very tender and flavorful loaf due to the combination of mashed potato, potato water, and eggs. It is great for toast and freezes well.

Irish Freckle Bread Recipe
Makes: 2 medium loaves
From Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads 

Ingredients:

• 1 potato, peeled and quartered
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 5 cups bread or all-purpose flour, approximately
• 2 packages dry yeast
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup dark raisins or currants

Directions:

Preparation: 30 - 40 minutes

Grease 2 medium (8 1/2" -x- 4 1/2") loaf pans.

In a pot, boil the potato in the water for 20 to 30 minutes. Reserve 1 cup of the water (120° - 130°) and put the potato aside to cool before mashing it.


By Hand or Mixer: 5 minutes

Pour 1 1/2 cups flour in the mixing bowl and add the potato, yeast, sugar, and salt. Pour in the cup of potato water and beat until a smooth batter.




First Rising: 1 - 1 1/2 hours

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set the dough aside to rise and become puffy, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.





Kneading: 10 minutes

Stir down the batter and add the eggs, butter, and raisins. Stir to mix thoroughly.
Add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to make a soft, elastic ball of dough. Don't add too much flour - the dough should be quite soft. If it is sticky, add sprinkles of flour. Knead with a strong push-turn-fold motion until the dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Knead for an equal length of time if using a mixer dough hook.




Shaping: 15 minutes

There are two different ways to form Freckle Bread. For both the dough is divided into 4 pieces and allowed to rest for 5 minutes before shaping.





The first method is to roll each piece lengthwise into a cylinder as long as the bread pan. It will be about 2" in diameter. Repeat with a second, and place the 2 pieces side by side in the pan. They will rise together and present a divided crust down the length of the loaf.



The second loaf can be formed in the same fashion, or the pieces can be shaped into balls and placed side by side. They will rise together to look like two half loaves.





Second Rising: 45 minutes

Cover with wax paper and leave in a warm place to rise to the edge of the pans, about 45 minutes at room temperature.







Preheat: Preheat the oven to 375°F 20 minutes before baking.


Baking Time: 35 minutes

Place the pans in the oven and bake until the crusts are nicely browned, 35 minutes. Turn one loaf out of its pan and tap the bottom crust with a forefinger. A hard, hollow sound means the bread is baked. If not, return to the oven for an additional 10 minutes. (If using a convection oven, reduce heat to 50°.)




Final Step

Remove the bread from the oven and place the loaves on a wire rack until cooled.

Then slice and enjoy!




This Irish Freckle Bread tastes great and it toasts beautifully although I couldn't wait to toast it. I just ate the end piece plain and it was wonderful!


Happy Baking!
Cathy

Brown Soda Bread

This Basic Brown Soda Bread is made with buttermilk from the buttermilk plant I started a few days ago.

This simple, wholesome loaf is delicious eaten fresh with butter, cheese or with a bowl of homemade soup.

Basic Brown Soda Bread Recipe
Makes: 1 large loaf
From The Best of Irish Breads and Baking by Georgina Campbell.

Ingredients:

• 1 1b/450g/4 cups coarse wholemeal (whole-wheat) flour
• 6 oz/175g/11/2 cups plain white (all-purpose) flour
• 1 rounded tsp/1 1/4 US tsp bread (baking) soda
• 1 tsp/1 1/2 US teaspoon salt
• 3/4 pint/450 ml/2 cups buttermilk (approx.)

Directions:

Preheat a hot oven, 400°F/200°C/gas 6. Mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir in enough buttermilk to make a fairly soft dough.

Turn onto a work surface dusted with wholemeal (whole wheat) flour and knead lightly until smooth underneath.




Form into a circle, about 1 1/2"/4 cm thick, and put onto a baking sheet. Mark a deep cross in the top with a floured knife. I decided to bake my in a casserole dish to give it a better shape.




Bake for about 45 minutes, until the bread is browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the base. I baked the bread with the lid on for about 30 minutes, then baked it without the lid for the last 10 minutes or so.

Cool on wire rack.  You might want to wrap it in a clean tea/dish towel to keep the crust soft.

This bread tastes good warmed with butter.




Thanks for visiting The Bread Experience Blog.

Happy Baking!
Cathy

Make your own buttermilk plant

Buttermilk is an essential ingredient in traditional soda breads so I decided to learn how to make a buttermilk plant. The acid in the buttermilk reacts with the baking soda and creates gases to make the bread rise. This reaction is very quick so be sure to have a hot oven ready and bake the bread right away before the gas dissipates.

Buttermilk can be cultured quite easily using a buttermilk plant. This version is adapted and updated from Florence Irwin's 1949 recipe.

How to Make a Buttermilk Plant:

Recipe found in The Best of Irish Breads & Baking by Georgina Campbell.

I started the buttermilk plant several days ago so the buttermilk would be ready to use in some Brown Soda Bread.

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pint/450 ml/2 cups skimmed milk
• 1/4 pint/150 ml/1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 oz/25g yeast
• 2 tsp/2 1/2 US tsp sugar

Directions:

Heat the milk to lukewarm by adding the boiling water. Then add the yeast and sugar. Pour into a sterilized screw-top jar, allowing enough head space for the contents to be shaken.





Place the jar on its side in a warm, dark place (a cupboard is perfect).





Shake several times a day for 4-6 days, depending on the temperature, while the buttermilk plant is forming.

I let it sit in the cabinet for several days and shook it a few times a day. It was a little cold and rainy this past week so it took about 6 days for it to culture.




Here is the buttermilk plan resting in the cabinet after it has been shaken.



Then remove the jar and open it carefully to prevent it bubbling over.

I actually had that happen. The jar exploded in my cabinet and buttermilk ran all over the counter. So don't do that! If you look closely at the photo above, you will notice that I placed the jar inside a plastic container so if it exploded again, it wouldn't get all over everything.





Strain the contents into a jug -- the cultured sour milk in the jug is used as buttermilk. You can see bits of yeast in the strainer.

The lumpy bits of yeast left in the strainer can be washed and re-used indefinitely. As the plant grows, it can be divided to share with others.



Here is the strained buttermilk. Now it can be used in a recipe.



I used a jar that I had washed and sterilized to store the buttermilk. Then I put it in the refrigerator for a few days.





To re-use the buttermilk plant:

Pour lukewarm water through the bits left in the strainer and wash off all remaining milk. Return the yeast (the buttermilk plant) to the washed and scalded jar, adding lukewarm milk and water as before. Repeat the ripening process, straining again after about 4 days (maybe 2 days in summer) when it is sour and thick.

At the end of each day, any leftover milk can be added to the jar if there is room.

Always wash all the old milk from the yeast and make sure that the jar is properly sterilized before starting another brew.


Alternatives:

• Although the results are not quite the same, yogurt is sometimes mixed with sweet (fresh) milk and works in a way which is similar to buttermilk.

• Cream of tarter can be added to the dry ingredients to provide the acid.

• Sweet milk can be soured by adding lemon juice.

I hope you enjoyed learning how to make the buttermilk plant.

Happy Baking!
Cathy