Natural Health & Wellness Center "Beyond Holistic"

Natural Health & Wellness Center "Beyond Holistic"
NH&WC "Beyond Holistic" LLC

Natural Health - Wellness Center' Beyond Holistic' LLC

Natural Health - Wellness Center' Beyond Holistic' LLC
http://www.naturalhealth-wellness.com/

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Recipe for Eastern Bread (Kozunak)


Kozunak is the traditional bread made by any woman (mother) for Easter in Bulgaria. This bread is slightly sweet but extremely tasty and can be served for breakfast with a cup of coffee or as a snack.
Usually two or three loaves of breads are made; one is left at the Church in front of the icon of Christ while the rest are eaten by the family after the Eastern service at the church. It is rather difficult to be prepared but its smell and wonderful taste could make anyone addicted to repeat his Eastern efforts.
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients:
2 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast (2 envelopes)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg, beaten lightly
1 1/3 cups warmed milk
1 1/2 cups raisins
3/4 cup rum (Havana club)
2 lemons
5 lbs flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups milk
2 cups crystal white sugar
11 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup almonds or hazelnuts, amaretto or walnuts
Directions:
1. Mix the first five ingredients (yeast, small amount sugar, salt, one egg, warm milk) in a large bowl. Cover and leave in a warm place for 40 minutes.
2. Put the raisins in the rum to cover, and set aside to soak.
3. Grate and juice the lemons. Set them also aside.
4. Sift four of the five pounds of flour onto a large tray or other work surface.
5. Melt the butter and combine with the oil. Vegetable oil is my preferred choice.
6. Heat 2 cups of milk and sugar on low temperature in a small saucepan until warm.
7. Separate four of the eggs and set aside the yolks for brushing. Beat the whites with the restful (7) eggs.
8. Add a handful of flour to the warm yeast mixture. Step by step, mix in with a spoon the rest of the flour, the milk mixture, the beaten eggs and the butter/oil mixture.
9. When most of the above mixture is ready together, mix in the lemon juice and zest, and the vanilla. Adding more flour to the work surface is necessary, as it dumps out the dough and kneading is getting easier.
10. Knead until it holds together well. Let the dough rest in a warm place until double in bulk (at least 1-2 hours). You may need to divide the dough into two bowls. Punch down and knead a little longer.
11. Drain the raisins and dredge in flour. Work about half of them into the dough as you knead few at a time. Let the dough sit and rise again (another 1-2 hours).
Baking Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F (or 400 F if your oven runs hot). Punch down and knead again. Divide the dough into 8 parts. Each of these, divide into three separate parts; roll them long and braid into a single loaf. While braiding, add the remainder of the raisins between the strands. Brush the loaves with the reserved egg yolk and stud the top with nuts. Bake the loaves about 30 minutes or until golden brown. You can use the dough to make smaller rolls, if you prefer. Baking 2-3 loaves at a time is just a perfectly done job.
Enjoy it with great pleasure!

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