Croatian Easter Bread
In every country there is always an Easter bake that comes out year after year and is slightly different depending on the family. Family recipes are my favourite.
Family recipes are those recipes that get passed down from generation to generation.
With each passing of the recipe baton, they get adjusted or tweaked until the dish, or in this case bake, is as perfect as it could ever be and suits your family perfectly..
Do you have one of those?
In Croatia there are lots and lots . I think one the reasons this is the case , is because of the way of life that welcomes multi-generational living.
I’m not even sure if that is a real term, but it works really well for me and what i mean.
The idea of many generations living with or near each other drawing on their life skills, child rearing, the sharing of experiences and sometimes expenses is something, i think both my kids and the lovely Mr G would agree, is a way of life that I would love to have.
Of course, this sharing includes cooking and eating together, which is when the preparation of family dishes is shared and stored away.
Most likely not even shared in any written form, the act of sharing the cooking together in a generational way means food which is loved and cooked often, gets passed from generation to generation, from kitchen to kitchen.
More likely than not, definitely where my extended family lives in Croatia, it’s not just how a dish is made that gets shared, but also the ingredients. Ingredients grown for everyone and shared amongst all the family members and sometimes even neighbours and friends.
A pig killed, will be butchered and used, top to tail, and loved for everything that it offers.
Blood for sausage, bones for stock and every bit in between cut up , shared and eventually prepared in some dish that will feed the people that they love and care for.
In winter, pumpkins are harvested by the whole community.
Ladies of a certain generation, from multiple households sharing important space in between the apple trees, chatting and laughing as their hands are kept busy deconstructing the orange spheres.
Seeds to make pumpkin oil, a year round staple of very family, industrial and domestic kitchen, flesh for food either for them or the animals.
Nothing wasted or disregarded.
Everything important and valued as a piece of living that is needed to keep things moving in households.
Isn’t that what food is all about?
This recipe may not involve a pig or pumpkin, but it does involve a lot of love and a few tweaks by me to make it perfect for my family.
It’s a dense fruity bread filled with flavour and because it’s covered in egg yolk before baking, it goes a dark brown when it comes out of the oven. More flavour
Of course, lashings of butter on every slice.
Enjoy Your Sweet Life
Croatian Easter Bread
All the sweet stuff in the bread help to make the top a dark brown.
What You Need
300g Plain Flour
7g Dried Yeast
80G Castor Sugar
35 ml Vegetable Oil
25g Melted Butter
125 ml Milk - Warmed slightly - See Tip Box
2 Egg Yolks for the dough
1 Egg Yolk for the top
50 g Raisins or currents - See Tip Box
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
3-4 tablespoon rum -See Tip Box
Pinch of Salt
Cut a cross in the top of the dough - i got a little bit carried away and made a few more cuts , just for fun
How It’s Done
Soak the raisins in the rum for at least 1 hour
In another bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt and zests
Place the yeast In a cup or small bowl along with 2-3 tablespoons of the warm milk and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Give it a mix and let it stand until it bubbles up (around 5 mins).
Combine all of the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients except the melted butter - rest of the warm milk, oil, egg yolks and yeast mixture.
Knead the dough for about 10 mins by hand or using a mixer with dough hook.
Cover the dough (in the a bowl) with a clean t-towel and place it in a warm place to rest until it doubles in size, for around 1 hour.
Tip the raisins into the risen dough along with the melted butter - See Tip Box
Knead again for another 10 minutes,
Transfer to an oven tray , cut a cross in the top of the dough and brush the top with the egg yolk.
Cover with the t-towel and let it rest until it doubles in size for about 1 hour.
Once rested, bake in the oven, 180c , for 30-35 minutes until dark brown and cooked all the way through. - See Tip Box
Cover the baked easter bread with the t-towel until completely cooled.
Lemon and orange zest add a great easter flavour
Tip Box
Milk - I used soya milk , but use what you have or your favourite.
Raisins - 1) Don’t like them, use another dried fruit or peel. If you’re using a larger fruit, such as dried apricots, don’t forget to chop it up before going ahead with the recipe.
2) When ready to tip the raisins into the dough, feel free to tip some of the rum in there too.
Rum - Don’t like rum, use port
Oven - All ovens vary so adjust cooking time accordingly
One slice of butter or two?
