Romania Spring Braid with the Babes

Welcome to my Kitchen! This month it's the Kitchen of the Month for the Bread Baking Babes. After spending some very delightful time looking at various bread recipes, I decided that since Easter and spring were going to be here during the bread baking time for April that I would invite all of the Babes around the kitchen table to have fun with a Romanian Easter Braid. Even if Easter isn't your thing, this braid is delicious with its nut filling and spring time flavors of butter, egg, and lemon. I like the idea of filling the braid ropes. Wasn't sure how it would actually go, but that's part of the fun, isn't it?

The description of the recipe in The Festive Bread Book, by Kathy Cutler talks about "The delicious walnut filling" but the recipe calls for ground almonds. I suspect that you could use any ground nut you desire...walnut, almond, pecan, hazelnut...and you will get a nice filling. The full description is, " the delicious walnut filling of this bread helps make it a Romanian classic. Serve it as a snack or with Easter dinner." It doesn't have any icing, so it may be a bread that is somewhat unsweetened. You can always add a sweet glaze and/or nuts once the baked bread has cooled if you prefer it a bit sweeter.

The Wiki information is interesting: " In Romania, the recipes differ rather significantly between regions in what concerns the trimmings. The dough is essentially similar throughout the country: a plain sweet bread made with flour, eggs, milk, butter, sugar and salt. Depending on the region, one may add to it any of the following: raisins,... grated orange or lemon rind, walnuts or hazelnuts, vanilla or rum flavour.

Cozonac, (the Romanian bread for Easter similar to Italian pannettone), may be sprinkled with poppy seeds on top. Other styles dictate the use of a filling, usually a ground walnut mix, ground poppy seeds mixture, cocoa powder, rum essence and raisins. The dough is rolled flat with a pin, the filling is spread and the whole is rolled back into a shape vaguely resembling a pinwheel. In the baked product the filling forms a swirl adding to the character of the bread."  Apparently there is also a Christmas version with dried and/or candied fruit included.

It sounds like this version is the braid that uses lemon rind and a nut filling. Maybe the author prefers almonds to walnuts or poppy seed. I know that we Babes are a creative bunch, so this recipe leaves plenty of room for creativity and should yield a nice loaf for any spring celebration.

Be sure to check out what the other Babes have done with this recipe, then make it yourself. To become a Buddy and get a badge for your blog, just e-mail me by April 29th at elle dot lachman at gmail dot com. Include a photo of your bread and a short description of your baking experience and I'll include you in the round-up. I know Easter has come and gone, but it's still spring and this bread is one your family will love...and pretty. Come join the fun...I know you want to.

This braid has a fairly rich dough, including both butter and eggs, and it has a nut-based filling. After making it and eating a slice the morning I made it, I think the next time I make it that I will spread a thin layer of softened butter on the dough before putting on the filling and I will increase the filling by half as much again to allow for a thicker layer of filling and a bit more flavor. In addition I'm going to increase the citrus zest (I used orange) to twice the amount called for in both the dough and the filling. I might also increase the salt by a 1/4 teaspoon to 3/4 teaspoon...the dough was just a tiny bit flat tasting and I think that will take care of that. The crumb was great and so was the crust. I made a quick glaze of a small amount of hot milk, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and a few drops almond extract to be drizzled over the top, then scattered on a few sliced almonds. Made for a pretty loaf and went well with the other flavors in the braid.

After reading over the recipe I just couldn't add yeast to a mixture that was going to be heated to such a high heat, so I put the yeast in 1/4 cup tepid water to proof, then added it to the milk/butter/egg mixture when the mixture had cooled to 100 degrees F before adding all of it to the dry mixture as the recipe calls for. I did mix everything by hand (no stand mixture) and it really is a lovely dough to knead for a while. I let mine sit in the fridge for a day before rolling out and shaping, then again overnight so that I could bake it this morning (it warmed up and did the final proofing this morning) which worked well. Nice oven spring, too. Because I used a little additional liquid in proofing the yeast, I decreased the milk by the same amount. As a result the flour called for was just about right.

Really yummy still slightly warm and taken with a nice hot cup of coffee! Love the swirls of filling...but I wanted more filling. My original plans to bake it again with friends was ruined by my coming down with a case of the flu.

Here are the links for the other Babes:

BakeMy Day  -  Karen
Blog from OUR Kitchen -  Elizabeth
Bread Experience -  Cathy
Girlichef -  Heather
Life's a Feast -  Jaime
Lucullian Delights -  Ilva
My Diverse Kitchen - Aparna
My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
Notitie van Lien - Lien

Romanian Easter Braid
makes one loaf

from The Festive Bread Book, by Kathy Cutler
 

3 1/2 - 4 cups flour, divided
1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (or use orange zest)
2/3 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs

Filling:
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup finely ground almonds (or walnuts, poppy seeds, etc)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (or use orange zest)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze:
1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons milk

Preparation:
Combine 2 cups flour , the yeast, and lemon zest in mixing bowl.

Heat milk, butter, sugar and salt until butter melts; remove from heat and let cool until it reaches 105 - 115 degrees F.

Add milk mixture and eggs to dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.

Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth - about 10 minutes.

Place in greased bowl, turning to coat top. Cover; let rise in warm place until double - about 1 hour.

Punch down dough. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each into a 7 x 16-inch rectangle.

Use 1/3 of filling one each rectangle, spreading filling, but leaving a margin around edges; roll up jelly-roll style. Seal seam and ends. You will have three filled and sealed ropes.

Braid ropes; place on greased baking sheet.

Cover; let rise in warm place until double - about 30 minutes.

Make glaze and brush on loaf.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 40 minutes or until done. Cool on wire rack.

(Optional: Make a sweet glaze with 1 tablespoon warm milk and enough powdered sugar to make a drizzle glaze. Drizzle cooled bread and then sprinkle with sliced almonds, for decoration, while glaze is still wet. Let dry.)

Orphan Bread

You probably know someone who is a vegan. We used to call them vegetarians, but then vegetarians divided up that world and some were ovo-lacto vegetarians, meaning they could have eggs and milk, some were non-meat eating vegetarians, so they could have fish, too, and then the strict vegetarians who don't consume meat, poultry, fish, eggs or milk decided to call themselves vegans to make sure that it was clear.

There is a lot to be said for eating that way, but it is not an easy diet. The same is true for Paleo eaters, although they can't eat half (or more) of what vegans eat and they do tend to eat a lot of meat. If you find that either works for you, then go for it. If you are Paleo, this bread probably isn't for you.

I recently spoke with my older sister and she is a vegan. Her description of how to know if something is OK to eat is it can't have a mother. I doubt that it can have a father, either. This bread qualifies, so I'm calling it Orphan Bread.

This bread is based on a recipe from Soups and Breads - The Irish Kitchen by Nuala Cullen, but I increased the Irish whole meal flour and decreased the bread flour for added texture, flavor and fiber, plus I took out the walnuts and put in pecans. For one thing, the walnuts tend to tint the bread pink. Pecans don't do that and are delicious, too. The apricots are the same and they go really well with pecans.

To keep it an orphan bread, the milk was replaced with almond milk. It is a really wonderful, full flavored bread and lovely toasted. In keeping with the vegan theme, don't use butter on the toast, but top it instead with a nut butter or apricot jam...or both. I admit it, I added a bit of butter to the toasted piece, but then one feels so sorry for an orphan.

Apricot and Pecan Orphan Bread
Based on a recipe in the cook book Soups and Breads - The Irish Kitchen by Nuala Cullen
Makes one loaf

75 g finely chopped dried apricots
75 g roughly chopped pecans
405 g strong white flour (bread flour)
120 g coarse brown flour (I used King Arthur Irish Whole Meal)
one packet instant dried yeast
325 ml/12 fl oz/1 ½ cups liquid with 2/3 water and 1/3 almond milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons almond milk
additional 1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans for topping

In a large mixing bowl mix together the flours, apricots, nuts, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the yeast and water or water mixture and let stand 10 minutes for the yeast to 'bloom'. Add the olive oil and stir.

With dough hook in place and mixer on low speed, gradually add the dry mixture until the dough is soft and cleans the sides of the bowl. Knead with the machine for 3-4 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead 2-3 minutes until dough is satiny.

Oil the mixing bowl, put in the dough, turn to coat with oil, cover with plastic wrap/clingfilm and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Knock the air out of the dough and knead briefly before turning out onto a floured surface. Shape as desired. I did a three strand braid. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk.

Brush some almond milk over the risen loaf and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon chopped pecans.

Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and tap underneath. If a hollow sound results, the bread is cooked. If not, bake a little longer and test again. You could also shape the dough in two loaves and bake them in two 8 x 4 loaf pans.

This is the kind of bread recipe that you can play around with, substituting different dry fruits for the apricots, different nuts for the pecans. Have fun with it!

A Bread Baking Babes Bread Revisited

Sometimes you get a chance to sort of go back and rewind. There are things that you would have done differently, or, in fact, done at all. Making Sukerbolle, a very sweet bread that was a Bread Baking Babes choice for September 2008, is a case in point. This was the eighth bread that the Babes had baked as a group. Since a number of the Babes had blogs which I read fairly regularly, I had seen the posts on this bread and it looked good. The truth is that this was also before I became totally immersed in sourdough starter making and then frequent bread baking, so I mostly admired the breads the Babes baked but didn't really think to become a Buddy.

Now Carola of Sweet and That's It has given us another opportunity to bake the bread as a group. I'm hoping that Monique, who originally was the Kitchen of the Month for this bread, approves of the choice and of my unorthodox approach to it. I know that Carola will find it interesting because she is a true breadhead...and that is one of the best compliment I can give.

The recipe calls for ginger syrup. You can use the syrup that candied ginger comes in or you can make your own. As it happens, I had some apple cider syrup in the fridge and there was just enough left for this bread. I also have loads of Gravenstein apples this year on the trees. I decided to tweak the recipe so that it is a Caramel Apple Bread version, using store bought caramels, cut into small pieces. There is still a lot of cinnamon and all the rest of the ingredients are pretty much the same, but I used the apple cider syrup instead of the ginger syrup and I added 1/2 cup grated, peeled tart apple, and traded the caramel pieces for the sugar nuggets. Going back to the original version, I decided to knead the apple and caramel into the dough instead of doing the jelly roll thing. I borrowed Carola's versions use of a mixture of melted butter and plain yogurt.

This is a delicious bread with a lovely crumb. It is pretty sweet, so I hope you enjoy sweet breads. When it is first baked and just barely warm, the caramel is still gooey, which I love. You can just taste the apple and there is lots of cinnamon flavor. It can be eaten just as it is, but do try one slice with just a bit of butter. Sublime. Great for breakfast with some fruit and coffee. A nice afternoon snack with a cup of tea, too.

Thank you Carola for creating the Back to the Future Buddies group and for choosing this great bread. Can't wait to see what other versions there will be.

If you would like to join the group and bake the bread, contact Carola for the deets.

Sending this to Susan at Wild Yeast for the Yeastspotting weekly event. Do go there and see the wonderful collections of a wide array of yeasted breads.

Sukerbolle

From Monique's blog:

500 grams all purpose flour
10 grams salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon-powder (a little more if you like it)
3 tablespoons of ginger-sirop (use the sirop that comes with those gingerballs you buy in a jar, see picture)
Make that gingersirop up to 2 dl with handwarm milk. (from your Frisian cow in your backyard, maybe ?)
25 grams fresh yeast
75 grams unsalted, melted butter (let it cool down before use)
2 eggs
150 grams sugar grains, see picture. Or use sugar lumps /cubes, and make small pieces of them.( by beating them with….whatever). Or…but I didn’t try : Spread the sugar and the cinnamon on your cutting board and sprinkle,drop by drop, with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir until it sticks in thicker lumps and let dry for a couple of hours.

Make a nice dough with all the ingredients , except the sugerlumps or sugergrains and the cinnamon, and let it rise for 45 minutes. After that, you can fold in the sugar, mixed with cinnamon, and work it through your dough.

Form a nice bread and put it in a small bread-tin. Make sure it is greased with lots of butter !!

On top, you can sprinkle granulated sugar, so it can form a caramel on your bread.

Cover and let it rise for 15 minutes .

Bake it in a warm oven in 30 minutes until brown and done.

Sorry, no temperatures…in those days living and cooking where very easy…
(For me, I use 200 C or 400 F).

From Carola's Blog:Ingredients for one loaf of about 1 kg (35 cm long)

For the dough:
25 g fresh yeast (1 package (7 g) instant active dry yeast)
3 tablespoons (45 ml) of ginger-syrup
155 ml of lukewarm milk (milk + gingersyrup = 200 ml) 
500 g all purpose flour (350 all purpose flour + 150 g whole wheat flour)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten at room temperature
75 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled down (40 g butter mixed with 40 g plain yogurt)
10 g salt (= 2 teaspoons) 

For the Filling:

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (1 1/2 teaspoons)
150 grams sugar grains 

For the top:
Milk for brushing the loaf (or eggwash) 
Granulated sugar (or sugar in grain)

Directions for the stand mixer (or you can knead it my hand, if you prefer):

Grease well a loaf tin with butter or line it with parchment paper.

In the bowl of your stand mixer dissolve the yeast with the milk and the ginger syrup and wait 5-10 minutes for the yeast to activate = it will foam.

Add the sifted flours and shortly knead with the dough hook . Then add the eggs, the butter-yoghurt mixture and the salt and knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is soft and no longer sticky.

Transfer the dough into a lightly oiled big bowl , cover with a plastic foil and let rise for 45-60 minutes, until it doubles in volume .

Pour the dough on a floured surface, fold it twice and cover it with plastic
foil.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar grains and gently press down with your hands the sugar into the dough. 

Roll tightly beginning from the short edge of the rectangle (or follow the original recipe: “fold in the sugar mixed with cinnamon , and work it through your dough”). 

Carefully transfer it into the loaf tin, seam side down.

Brush the top with some milk (or egg wash) and sprinkle with granulated sugar or sugar grains.

Cover with plastic foil and let it rise for the second time for about 30-40 minutes (to check if it’s ready, make the finger test:  when the dough springs back leaving a light indention, the dough is ready to go in the oven).
In the meantime preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) with a ramequin full of water (it will create steam and help the dough rising).

Bake the bread for about 30 minutes, until brown. Should it get brown too quickly, cover the bread with parchment paper (I do not like aluminum foil).

The first 10 minutes I've baked it at 400°F (200°C), then 10 minutes at 356°F (180°C). As it started getting too brown, I covered it with parchment paper and baked it for another 10 minutes; then I took the paper away and baked it for the last 3-4 minutes (total baking time: 34 minutes). PS: I always do the thermometer test: when the internal temperature reaches 200°F (93°C) the bread is ready. 

Remove from the loaf tin and place on a wire rack to cool.

 

Elle's versions:

500 grams all purpose flour
10 grams salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons apple cider syrup (45 ml)

155 ml with handwarm milk.
1 package (7 g) instant active dry yeast
40 g melted and cooled butter mixed with 40 g plain yogurt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
150 grams caramels, cut into small pieces. I also dusted them very lightly with confectioners sugar to keep them from sticking together
1/2 cup grated tart peeled apple
cinnamon-sugar and a bit of milk for the top of the loaf

Make a nice dough with all the ingredients, except the caramel and the apple, and let it rise for 45 minutes. After that, you can fold in the caramel and apple, and work it through your dough.

Form a nice bread and put it in a small bread-tin. Make sure it is greased with lots of butter !!

On top, sprinkle cinnamon-sugar, so it can form a nice topping on your bread. Some of the caramel pieces may poke through the dough. That's OK. They might drip a little over the crust, but will look great.

Cover and let it rise for 15 minutes.

Bake it in a warm oven in 30 minutes until brown and done. You may want to put some foil on the rack under the oven rack the bread is baking on, just in case some of the filling drips.

Bake in a hot oven until baked through.
(For me, I used 200 C or 400 F for 10 minutes, at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, then I covered it with foil and continued to bake it another 10 minutes at that temperature. Turned out just right.)

Cool on a wire rack 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides to loosen and turn the loaf out onto a rack to cool...if you can wait. It actually is wonderful just slightly warm, with the gooey caramel in little pockets here and there in each slice.