Easter Bread

Most countries, which celebrate Easter, have their versions of sweet Easter bread. In Bulgaria it is called kozunak and the recipes are probably as many as the households :) Over the years I've tried at least a dozen recipes, last year I even took pictures and planned a posting, but never came down to writing it.

Today I improvised with a recipe and a form and I am quite happy with the result, so I am writing it down to have it on the blog:

Ingredients:

• flour 300 g
• 6 g fresh yeast
• 1 egg
• 70 g water
• 90 g milk
• 30 g sugar + 20 g brown sugar for dusting
• 30 g olive oil or melted butter
• 100 g mixed dried tropical fruit

Preparation:

Prepare the dough as usual, this time I used my mixer. Leave it to rise covered in a warm place for an hour or so. Then divide the dough in four parts, spread each part, place your filling, roll and twist. Pleat the four pieces to form a round bread. Place in a baking form and leave to rest for an hour. 

Once the bread has rested and increased its volume, brush with egg-wash and dust with brown sugar. Bake for 35-40 min at 180C in a preheated oven.

This recipe is low on sugar and butter, as I've been trying to keep our consumption of processed sugar to a minimum, but it is still quite tasty and delicious. I intend to experiment further with proportions, so I envision a lot of Easter bread baking in our house :)

My husband eats kozunak with milk, but I love it with my morning coffee. Can't wait for morning to come and to have another piece of Easter bread with my hot coffee, while I do my Duolingo German lessons.