Bulgarian Easter Bread - Kozunak Recipe

Bulgarian Easter Bread - Kozunak Recipe

Kozunak is traditional Bulgarian sweet bread prepared for Easter. A similar dessert can be found in the Italian cuisine , Panettone.
In this sweet bread milk, sugar, eggs, raisins and lemon zest are added to the dough. Although you can find Kozunak recipes in many cookbooks such as French and English, it is only considered a traditional food in Bulgaria and Romania.

Today I am sharing with you a recipe I've used to make Kozunak myself. 


Ingredients for 2 small loaves:

3 eggs
1 cup warm milk
2 1/4 tsp dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups flout
pinch of salt
lemon zest from 1 lemon

I like to brush Kozunac with egg wash before baking, so I mix 1 egg yolk with 2 gbps oil and 1 tbsp milk


Directions:

1. Combine dry yeast with warm milk and 1 tsp sugar and set aside.
2. Sift flour in a large bowl ana add salt. 
3. In a bowl mix together sugar and eggs until sugar is dissolved. Add vanilla.
4. Combine egg and yeast mixture with flour and start mixing. Add lemon zest.
5. Gradually add oil to the dough and continue mixing until all liquid has been absorbed into the flour.
6. You can use a mixer for kneading the dough for 3-5 minutes, or knead it over your kitchen counter by hand.
7. Transfer to a greased and floured bowl and cover with plastic wrap. 
8. Let dough rest at a warm place to rise until it doubles its size.
9. After it has doubled its size , take it out of the bowl and transfer to a greased surface.
10. Since the recipe is for 2 small Easter Breads, cut dough in half and then cut each half into 3 equal parts. (You can make one large bread by just cutting the whole dough in 3 parts). Roll each part into a  20 inch long and 1 inch thick roll. Form 2 braids from the dough and transfer to a greased and floured 9" loaf pan.
11. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 more minutes.
12. Preheat oven to 350F.
13. Brush Kozunak with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top. (A tooth pick inserted should come out clean).
14. Remove from oven and let it stay in the bread pan for 2-3 minutes. Take out of the pan and let it completely cool over a cooling rack. 

Store in a dry place. You can wrap it in plastic and this bread can last up to 5 days.

Bulgarian Easter Bread - Kozunak Recipe