Braided Round Babka For Easter

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Braided Round Babka For Easter

Link to my newest and old recipes, click:

https://kitchenbaroness.wordpress.com/

This is a celebratory babka possibly at its simplest -no nuts or dried fruits. Still, it is a deeply enriched loaf of cake-like bread, generous with egg yolks, dairy and sugar.

I had been wanting to bake a babka very similar looking to the one above for a long time. I saw it on telly on Elisabeth Luard's documentary on Eastern European peasant food. 

A group of housewives were working on this huge vat (or maybe it was a trough) of babka dough for Easter. They worked on it relentlessly in a relay system of two, plummeting the impossibly sticky looking dough. There was a lot of dough so it took a long time to get it looking smooth and glossy.

The only woman to fatigue was the documentary host herself, Elisabeth, who could only work on the dough at half the speed as compared to the seasoned women around her. She took off her hat to their prowess and stamina as she collapsed into a heap exhausted whilst the woman continued to plummet away. It was amusing to watch all this unfold in the comforts of my cushy chair.

Then, there was the clever bit. Guess what was used for baking pans? The families' cooking pots! Why waste money on baking pans when you can just as easily use your everyday cooking pots as long as they were round, deep enough and did not have any combustible handles. 

The final product? Out of the oven, the women were pulling out these round pots of dark and glossy brown babkas with glorious crowns of braids. What a work of art -the skill of experience was evident, tight braiding that sat proudly in place. I need a life time of practise before I can ever get the braiding on my round babka that pretty.

If you have never adorned a braid on a base loaf, learn from my mistakes. 

• Only work on dough that have been well rested so that you do not create unnecessary tension. 
• Do not pull on the dough to braid.
• Always work on having a surplus length of braid. More is better than less if only to be assured that you have enough length to encircle the entire circumference of your baking vessel. Don't be tempted to pull the ends of the braid together to forcefully meet. What will happen is that the tension to the braid will cause it to separate as it bakes.
• Prepare any smaller size adornments you wish to add on the loaf only ~15 minutes before you are ready to bake. These smaller size adornment(s) need a shorter rising time. Prepared and placed on the base too early, they might over proof and split whilst baking -happened to me.

This babka, although sweet, goes very well with soft cheeses and ham. I was trying to replicate the babka I saw on telly and I do not recall any nuts or dried fruits being added so my recipe is a reflection of what I remember. I did add orange zest though as I do like the smell and taste of it in an Easter bread. 

When making sweet bread, I do not usually beat eggs and sugar together. However, I realised that a lot of sweet Eastern Europeans bread start off this way. Intrigued, I had a go. Taste and texturally, I could not detect any discernible difference in the baked babka. What was discernible was how much easier it was for my KitchenAid to work the dough into a smooth, pliable dough. So I am happy to beat eggs and sugar for my next Babka. 

This dough is very sticky and using a powerful standing mixer is ideal.

For other Easter bread ideas, please scroll down to look at some pretty looking Easter bread under my 'Tips' section.
BRAIDED BABKA FOR EASTER                                           

Prep:	30 minutes
Cook:	40 - 45 minutes
Inactive:	First rise: overnight in the refrigerator Second rise: ~1.5 - 2.5 hours
Level:	Moderate
Makes:	One 5"- 6" high, 8" in diameter round loaf.
Oven Temperature:	(350F) (175C)
Can recipe be doubled?	No
Make ahead?	Best fresh. Keeps well in air-tight container for 2 days. Freezes well.

Just the ingredients (15.23oz) (432g) (~3 and 1/5 cups) bread flour  1/2 teaspoon salt (4.22fl oz)(125ml) (~1/2 cup) milk (2.11oz) (60g) unsalted butter 2 and 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast 2 Tablespoons water 4 egg yolks (4.23oz) (120 g) (~1/2 cup) caster sugar 1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract ~1 Tablespoon orange zest from (~ 2 large oranges)

Ingredient

(15.23oz) (432g) (~3 and 1/5 cups) bread flour 

1/2 teaspoon salt

(4.22fl oz)(125ml) (~1/2 cup) milk

(2.11oz) (60g) unsalted butter

2 and 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

2 Tablespoons water

4 egg yolks

(4.23oz) (120 g) (~1/2 cup) caster sugar

1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

~1 Tablespoon orange zest from (~ 2 large oranges)

Method

The night before, prepare the dough.

Scald the milk. That means to bring the milk almost to the boil. Once you see tiny bubbles around the circumference, add the unsalted butter and remove the pot from the burner to cool before using.

Why scald? Scroll down to 'Tips' paragraph.

Stir the yeast into the 2 Tablespoons of water with a pinch of sugar. Leave it alone for 5 - 10 minutes to activate. It will foam and balloon so use an adequate size of a bowl.

Mix the salt into the bread flour. Set aside.

Using a standing mixer attached with the paddle attachment, beat egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract and orange zest on medium-speed until light and creamy.

With the machine still running, add the yeast+water mix. 

Alternate adding the cooled milk+butter mix with the bread+salt mix.

After 10 minutes of machine mixing, you should have a glossy sticky dough. 

Stop the machine. Butter your hands, pull off a small ball of dough. Stretch it. It should not feel tight. If it does, add ~1 Tablespoon of milk and let the machine knead it for a few minutes. Recheck.

You should be able to stretch the dough easily without tearing. In fact, you should be able to stretch it to a thin translucent membrane before it tears.

Butter the container (with an air-tight lid) where you will be storing the dough for the night. 

With buttered hands and a buttered dough scraper, gather the dough and divide into 2 equal halves. 

Gather up one half into a ball, tuck loose ends under and place in the prepared container.

Divide the other half dough into 3 equal parts. Shape each into ball, tuck loose ends under and place in the prepared container.

Butter the exposed surface of the dough, cover container tight and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preparing the dough for baking

Remove dough from the refrigerator and leave it on the kitchen counter for 10 minutes or so. It will be easier to handle. The dough would not have double in volume. That's fine.

Have some flour nearby for dusting. Grease the 8" round baking vessel that you would be using for baking the loaf.  It should be at least 5"- 6" high. I use one of my round cooking pots with no combustible handles.

To start, work on the 3 smaller balls of dough. Dust your work surface lightly.

Take one of the three dough balls and roll into a 35" (75cm) sausage. You would most likely not be able to roll it at one go to that length - it's a long length to roll and stretch. I have to let the dough rest twice for 10 minutes each time. Cover with a tea towel and move on to the second and third pieces of dough. Always keep dough covered to avoid drying out.

When all 3 dough balls have been rolled out to 35" (75cm), keep them well covered under the tea towel (for at least 10 minutes before working on it). 

Move on to the last remaining larger ball of dough.

Dust your work surface lightly.

With a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a circle to fit the base of the round baking vessel. As you roll, try to get rid of any air bubbles. I usually use a pair of scissors to burst those bubbles - it's more effective.

When the three logs of dough have had their 10 minutes of rest under the tea towel it would be time to braid them.

Start braiding from the centre. Do not stretch the dough as you braid. Instead keep your handling light, gentle and the braiding loose. If you do not, the overstretched braid will distort and not sit nicely on top of your base loaf which was exactly what happened to an earlier loaf.

After braiding from the centre down one length and neatening straggly ends by tucking them under, overturn the dough and start braiding from the centre down on the other end. 

Why overturn? So that you can braid it the same way (left to right or right to left) that you are used to. After braiding this end, do not tuck the ends under as yet. 

Fold the braid in half just to help you carefully transfer it to the top of the base loaf in the baking vessel.

Adjust the braid loosely around the circumference. Do not pull on the braid, you do not want any tension. Join the two ends, trimming excess braid off with scissors.

Let it rest and almost double in size. It usually takes 2 hours.

Traditionally, a crucifix or some other religious symbol made out of excess dough would top the surface of the bread.

If you intend to decorate the loaf further with these additional smaller pieces of dough, I suggest you only shape and top them on the dough 10-15 minutes before the dough is ready to go into the oven. The tinier your dough decorations, the less time they need to rise. Placed any earlier and your designs might over proof and split during baking.  That is what happened to my first loaf.

Just before baking brush with milk for a matt finish. If you want a very dark coloured loaf, brush with egg mixed with a little water.

Bake on the lower middle oven rack at 350F (175C). 

After the first 20 minutes of baking, place a sheet of aluminium foil over the loaf to avoid over browning. Bake a total for 40 - 45 minutes until a darker shade of brown. 

To test if loaf is baked, carefully overturn the loaf and tap the base. It should sound hollow. A thermometer inserted should read 195F.

If you want a darker coloured loaf, you could brush it with a little beaten egg diluted with a little water and return to the oven for 3 - 5 minutes which is what I had done.

If you want more of a gloss, brush some melted butter.

Remove from baking vessel and cool completely on a wire rack.

Tips

Why scald milk? 

A lot of the Old World recipes for sweet breads frequently ask for milk to be scalded. I always thought it was to make milk 'safe' or to speed up yeast activation.  I read enough to be intrigued and looked it up. To summerise, scalding milk alters the milk proteins that interfere with gluten development in bread. End result? A softer loaf with a higher rise. Now that I know this, I will be scalding my milk each time I intend to use it to bake bread.

Other Easter bread ideas

I can't decide which other Easter bread I should bake for Easter. I love them all but I am leaning towards my Greek easter bread Tsoureki because it has the unique flavour of mastic in it, a spice which I have to make a special order for as it's not readily available. This bread pulls apart almost like cotton candy. No mastic? Substitute with anise extract.

My Russian Easter bread, Kulich with it's cream cheese like accompaniment, Pashka is also wonderful to eat. I make it rather often but I simplify it by baking it in long loaves and not into tall cylindrical shapes. It is a very rich and sweet bread studded with dried tangerine peel, sultanas and nuts. Sometimes, I bake them just to make Bread and Butter Pudding!

The Easter bread that I grew up eating? Hot Cross Buns. Although those I had back then looked and tasted nothing like these yummy yummies.

What was my recent addition to celebratory bread? This Eastern European inspired Poppy Seed Roll which can be served for Easter.

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                              
These are going to look so cute on my Easter table as individualised dinner rolls. I just need to neaten up the bunny ears a little. The eggs are not there merely to look pretty, they are going to be incorporated into my Easter lunch menu.

Poppy Seed Roll With An Undoubtedly Moist Filling

Hi! I'm now working from Wordpress. I've spent a great deal of time editing and reorganising this post on Wordpress and it is so much friendlier to read & follow my recipe from there. Click on this link to take you directly to the recipe:

Poppy Seed Roll With An Undoubtedly Moist Filling

Link to my newest and old recipes, click:

https://kitchenbaroness.wordpress.com/

This enriched sweet bread has an undeniably moist, sweet and citrusy filling with pops of sultanas and the crunch of almonds. No dry or gritty poppy seeds here. 

It must have been over 15 years ago when I watched Elisabeth Luard, the prolific food writer, host, 'The Rich Tradition', a cooking documentary that "explores how the customs and traditions of peasant life in Europe influenced the food people eat." I was enthralled by the series. Even back then, I was interested in what everyone in whatever country ate on a daily basis.

An episode that stands out is the one where a very Eastern European woman, in full traditional attire, made her Poppy Seed Roll. 

I recall how she slathered the poppy seed filling onto the dough and just as effortlessly rolled it into a sausage. It came out of her oven a glorious brown log - the size of a large woman's upper arm. She sliced through the roll, revealing a perfect pinwheel. I can remember the sound that came through as she sliced. What an impression it made. 

15 years later, I have made my Poppy Seed Roll. It took me a long while to get round to making it but it won't be long before I bake another one. It will take pride of place on my Easter table. 

The Poppy Seed Roll is a celebratory bread and one variation or another of it is found in many Easter European countries. 

To get an idea of how it was baked, I referred to my Eastern European cookbooks and online. Differences abound but the essentials are constant -make it sweet and rich and add a touch of citrus zest in the dough. I chose to use more egg yolks and sugar to have the dough richer and sweeter. It turned out exactly the way I thought it should taste and feel on the mouth. 

As for the poppy seed filling, it was more challenging. Preparations methods differ considerably. Some recipes grind the poppy seeds first and then soaked or cooked them to soften. Other recipes reverse the procedure. 

What goes with the seeds also varies. I have read a whole range of ingredients: honey, sugar, walnuts, almonds, citrus peels/zests/juice, dried fruit, milk, eggs. 

I chose to toast the poppy seeds first in a hot pan to release the essential oils. After all, this is what's done for spice, nuts, sesame seeds. Strangely, this step was not adopted by any recipe. Toasting, changes the smell and taste and I would not bake another roll without doing so. 

Once cooled, I ground the seeds and soaked them in boiling milk to soften -I don't enjoy eating hard or gritty poppy seeds. 

The seeds do need an overnight in the refrigerator for the seeds to completely plump up and soften. 

I have tried it both ways. One, poppy seed filling was used immediately once it had cooled. 

Two, poppy seed filling (that had been put in just boiling milk) was refrigerated overnight before using the next day. Big difference. Go with the latter. 

It is no wonder that I have read it enough times to remember bakers commenting, "it tastes better the second day." That's because the seeds were allowed to swell up and absorb the flavours of the citrus peel, juice, almonds, sugar, sultanas and whatever else you choose to add. Although the Poppy Seed Roll they are referring to might "taste better the second day", the bread dough itself is no longer fresh. It is a day old.

POPPY SEEDS ROLL                                                           

Prep:	30 minutes
Inactive: Cook:	Poppy Seed Filling has to be refrigerated overnight. 5 minutes
Bake: Level:	~25 minutes Medium
Makes:	2 loaves of bread
Oven Temperature:	(350F)(175C)
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes
Make ahead?	Prepare the Poppy Seed Filling the night before. Dough can be prepared and refrigerated 2 nights ahead. Once baked, they keep well, refrigerated, for at least 3 days.

Just the ingredients Poppy Seed Filling 4 oz (113 g)(~3/4 cup) poppy seeds 1 Tablespoon candied lemon peel/grated lemon zest 3 oz (85 g)(~1/4 + 1/8 cups) sugar 1/2 cup milk 1 oz (28g) (2 Tablespoons) butter 1 Tablespoon grated lemon/orange zest 1 Tablespoon lemon/orange juice 1 oz (28 g)(~3 Tablespoon) ground/chopped almonds (latter for more texture) 2 oz (57 g)(~1/4 cup) sultanas 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract 1 egg beaten Enriched Sweet Dough 1 and 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast 2 Tablespoons water 1/2 cup milk 1 egg  2 egg yolks  1/2 teaspoon salt 13.65 oz (387 g) (~3 cups) bread flour 3.52oz (100g) (1/2 cup) sugar  2 Tablespoon candied lemon peel/grated lemon zest 2oz (57g)(4 Tablespoons) chilled butter

Ingredients: Poppy Seed Filing

Ingredients: Enriched Sweet Dough

This is the brand I have access to.

Ingredients

Poppy Seed Filling

4 oz (113 g)(~3/4 cup) poppy seeds
Bob's Red Mill is what I use. Store in the refrigerator even if it is unopened. It turns rancid quickly.
1 Tablespoon candied lemon peel/grated lemon zest
3 oz (85 g)(~1/4 + 1/8 cups) sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 oz (28g) (2 Tablespoons) butter
1 Tablespoon grated lemon/orange zest
1 Tablespoon lemon/orange juice
1 oz (28 g)(~3 Tablespoon) ground or chopped almonds (latter for more texture)
2 oz (57 g)(~1/4 cup) sultanas
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg beaten

Enriched Sweet Dough

1 and 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
I use the French brand, SAF- instant yeast.

2 Tablespoons water

1/2 cup milk
1 egg 
2 egg yolks 
Save 1 egg white for the egg wash.
1/2 teaspoon salt
13.65 oz (387 g) (~3 cups) bread flour
3.52oz (100g) (1/2 cup) sugar 
2 Tablespoon candied lemon peel/grated lemon zest
2oz (57g)(4 Tablespoons) chilled butter

Method

If using candied lemon peel - grind it.

If you are using candied lemon peel similar to the ones I use (refer to photograph of ingredients), it needs to be grounded with the sugar. 

To keep yourself organised, ground the candied lemon peel required for the Poppy Seed Filling separately from that required for the Enriched Sweet Dough. 

Poppy Seed Filling: You cannot grind candied lemon peel on its own as it will clump. Grind the candied lemon peel with the sugar and you should be fine. Let the machine rest at 10 seconds intervals so it doesn't heat up and melt the sugar.
           
Enriched Sweet Dough: Grind the candied lemon peel with the sugar and ~ 1/4 cup bread flour (taken from the 3 cups of bread flour). The flour helps to reduce the clumping.

Set both aside.

Poppy Seed Filling

Heat up a frying pan on high. When hot, add the poppy seeds and toast for ~1 minute, stirring all the time to avoid burning. It will turn a slightly darker shade. It might be hard to tell visually when to stop toasting as poppy seeds are dark grey - black. I suggest you always stir and toast no longer than 1 minute. Go with your nose. It will smell toasted.

Transfer to an awaiting plate to cool. Do not leave in the frying pan as the residual heat might burn the seeds.

When seeds have completely cooled, grind them in your food processor or spice grinder. 

My food processor is very powerful and will grind the poppy seeds to a fine powder. It appears that a lot of food processors are not. In which case, you would need to use a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle. Machines need to be rested every 10 seconds or so to avoid overheating and warming the poppy seeds so much that it begins to clump up.

Set aside.

In a saucepan, bring the milk and butter to a boil. Once you see the first few bubbles, add all the toasted ground poppy seeds and stir quickly to mix so that the milk does not get a chance to boil over. Turn off the burner but leave saucepan on burner.

If you are using candied lemon peel, stir in the candied lemon peel and sugar that you had ground up earlier.

If you are not, stir in the sugar and the 1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest.

Next, stir in the 1 Tablespoon grated lemon/orange zest and 1 Tablespoon lemon/orange juice.

Let the mixture cool, allowing the seeds to soften in the liquid.

Once cooled, stir in the sultanas, almonds, vanilla extract and beaten egg.

Refrigerate overnight and up to a day ahead before using. 

This resting period is necessary as it allows the seeds to soften and soak up all the flavouring. I had in an earlier bake, used it immediately after cooling and it was quite clear that the poppy seeds in my baked loaf would have benefited from an overnight steeping. The filling was gritty and a little lacklustre in taste. 

However, the loaf tasted much better the next day when the poppy seeds had time to plump up and soak in all the lemon/orange flavours and the sultanas were extra plump as well.

Enriched Sweet Dough

Mix the yeast with 2 Tablespoons water and a pinch of sugar.  Instant yeast does not usually require a separate activation but I like to do so for this recipe as this is a rich dough high in sugar so a little initial yeast activation does help the rise. Set aside.

If you are using candied lemon peel, it should have already been pre-grounded with the sugar and ~1/4 cup bread flour. (Scroll to the start of Method).

Mix all the eggs with the milk and salt. Set aside.

I have included instructions for both mixing dough with a mixer (KitchenAid) and by hand.

Using a mixer

I use a standing mixer, my KitchenAid. A hand held mixer will not be powerful enough to work this dough. 

Attach dough hook to beater shaft. Lock in the mixer bowl. 

If you are using the pre-grounded candied lemon peel+sugar+~1/4cup flour mix, add that to the bottom of your mixer bowl.

If you are not, add the sugar and the 2 Tablespoons grated lemon zest to the bottom of the mixer bowl.

Next, add the bread flour, yeast+water mix and the eggs+milk mix.

Start the machine on low and work it up to medium and let the machine run without adding anymore liquid or flour for ~5 minutes. It will look wet and sticky.

With the machine running gradually add in the cubes of butter down the insides of the mixing bowl. This takes me ~ 2 minutes.

Let the machine knead it in for another ~5 minutes. This will be a sticky dough so do not be tempted to add additional flour.

It will look smoother and silkier. 

If the dough feels at all tight when you pull on it to stretch it (with buttered fingers as the dough will be sticky), run the machine another few minutes. You want an elastic dough that gives you an easy stretch and the stretched portion of dough will look translucent, almost like a window pane.

Butter your hands well and with the help of a buttered dough scraper, scrape sides of bowl clean. Pick the dough up and form into a round ball. Tuck loose ends under the dough. 

Before returning dough to mixer bowl, butter the bowl. Return dough to mixer bowl. Cover with plastic wrap.

Let it rise until almost double in size.  This dough will take ~1 to 1 and 1/2 hours to rise.

Alternatively, at this stage, the dough can be refrigerated in a buttered container (with a lid) up to 2 days. The container should be at least 2X the volume of the dough to allow for expansion.

When you are ready to use the dough, it can be used directly without letting it come to room temperature. It would actually be easier to work a chilled dough.

Working dough by hand

If you are using the pre-grounded candied lemon peel+sugar+~1/4cup flour mix, add that to the bottom of  a large mixing bowl.

If you are not, add the sugar and the 2 Tablespoons grated lemon zest to the bottom of the mixing bowl.

Next, add the bread flour, yeast+water mix and the eggs+milk mix.

Use your hands to work it in to a rough ball.

It will be very sticky.

To start kneading, you have to work with pushing the dough out with the palm of your hand and pulling it back with your fingers. As the dough will be sticky, use a butter dough scraper to help you pull the dough away from the sides of the bowl or butter your hands.

Knead for ~10 minutes. It should get smoother and more pliable as you knead. If you think it is impossibly sticky, add 1 Tablespoon of flour. Bear in mind that if you add too much flour, you loaf will bake out more dry than moist. Go slow with the flour.

After the initial 10 minutes of kneading, gradually add the cubed butter and work it in. This will take another 5 to 10 minutes of kneading. 

It might become frustratingly sticky at times but that is fine. It will get less so as you knead.

By this time the dough will be smooth, soft, silky and still sticky! But less so.

If you pull on the dough and if it feels at all tight continue to knead. You know you are doing well when you can easily stretch the dough without much tension.

Shape into a round ball, tuck loose ends under the dough. 

Butter your bowl which should be large enough to allow the dough to almost double in size. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise until almost double in size. 

Alternatively, at this stage, the dough can be refrigerated in a buttered container (with a lid) up to 2 days. The container should be at least 2X the volume of the dough to allow for expansion.

When you are ready to use the dough, it can be used directly without letting it come to room temperature. It would actually be easier to work a chilled dough.

Rolling and filling the dough

Flour your work surface lightly.

Punch the dough down gently, removing any air bubbles along the way. Do not overwork the dough. Divide the dough into 2.

Do not try and make only one roll. I did just that and it is ridiculously huge and when you slice it up, it occupies half of your dinner plate. This is a sweet bread so smaller slices that fit your dessert plates is more ideal.

Roll the dough into a rectangle, working out the air pockets as you do so. There is no need for exact measurements. Just keep in mind to roll it no thinner than 0.4' (1cm). 

Why? Too thin and you might create a weak spot for the filling to burst through.

Divide the Poppy Seed Filling into 2. Spread one half on the rolled dough, leaving ~0.78"(2cm) border. Don't spread it beyond as you risk the filling flowing out during baking.

Most recipes will tell you to roll from the short end and I guess that is to create as many poppy swirls as one can.

I wanted one loaf that would be horse shoe shaped and another that was just linear.

For my horse shoe shaped loaf, I rolled from the long end. This gave me a better length to form a decent looking curve.

For the linear loaf, I rolled from the short end.

(Did I notice any visible difference in the swirls once I sliced through the baked loaf? No.)

Secure the ends well by pinching them together and tucking them under. Do this as best as you can.

Transfer to a parchment paper/silpat lined baking sheet. 

Cover with a tea towel and let it rise for 45 minutes to an hour or until it has almost doubled in size.

Do the same procedure for the second loaf.

Ready for baking

When the oven is hot enough (350F)(175C),  brush a beaten egg white over the 2 doughs.

Bake immediately, lower middle rack for ~25 minutes. Half way through baking, you need to cover the bread with aluminium foil to prevent them from over browning. The loaves are baked when they sound hollow when tapped at its base.

Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and eating.

I store the loaf in the refrigerator in a tightly covered container not only because I like it cold. The moist filling will keep longer in cooler conditions.

Tips

I can't decide which other Easter bread I should bake for Easter. I love them all but I am leaning towards my Greek easter bread Tsoureki because it has the unique flavour of mastic in it, a spice which I have to make a special order for as it's not readily available. This bread pulls apart almost like cotton candy. No mastic? Substitute with anise extract.

My Russian Easter bread, Kulich with it's cream cheese like accompaniment, Pashka is also wonderful to eat. I make it rather often but I simplify it by baking it in long loaves and not into tall cylindrical shapes. It is a very rich and sweet bread studded with dried tangerine peel, sultanas and nuts. Sometimes, I bake them just to make Bread and Butter Pudding!

What was the Easter bread that I grew up eating? Hot Cross Buns. Although those that I had back then looked and tasted nothing like these yummy yummies.

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                                 
I have been wanting to bake Babka.  Not any Babka but the one I saw Elisabeth Luard help some Eastern European housewives bake on her TV show, A Rich Tradition (mentioned in my preface). 

Even though it was screened a long time ago, I can still recall the effort that went into kneading literally a 'troughful' of sticky dough -all the ladies had to go into a relay system of 10 - 20 minutes each, bending over the trough to get the kneading done. There was certainly a lot of dough! Well, they were baking for Easter which can be a bigger celebration than Christmas.

The final product were rounds and rounds of braided dark brown coloured Babkas. Why were they all round? The families' cooking pots were used for the baking!