Let"s Cook Kulich (Easter Cake)

Cooking time —
Complication —

A kulich is an obligatory Easter dish. To make it, pastry was left to rest over the night of Thursday to Friday, baked all Friday long, and sanctified during the night of Saturday to Sunday. It is eaten all Easter week till Radunitsa. The ancient Russian cuisine knows about 20 kinds of kuliches. Big and small kuliches can be of various richness, but all of them must be high. It is believed that if the kulich has gone right, everything will be good in the family. If it did not rise in the oven, the crust cracked, or there were any other defects, expect a misfortune. Alongside with kulich Easter bread artos was cooked. Artos is a prototype of kulich. It has liturgical meaning, the consecration of artos is a church ceremony, while cooking and consecration of kulich is a pious folk custom. Catholics besides leaven Easter cakes also cook short cakes, so-called "baba".
Please yourself and your relatives and do not get discouraged if you fail from the first. To cook a rich, flavoursome and tasty Kulich, follow our recommendations:
- the temperature in the room where you make pastry, should not be lower than 25 C;
- the pastry should not be liquid because in that case kuliches will blur and become flat; if the pastry is too dense it is not good either: kuliches will be too heavy and tasteless and will soon get stale. The pastry should be of such density that it could be cut with a knife without adding flour. It should not stick to the knife;
- make the pastry and knead it thoroughly as long as possible until it does not stick to the hands, dish or table;
- the flour should be dry and sifted;
- you should leave the pastry to rest three times: the first time when it is dissolved (at 28-30 C); the second time when you mix all ingredients, and the third time when it is already in a baking pan or on a baking tray (at 30-45 C). Put it into a hot oven and hold it closed;
- kuliches can be of various shapes. Classic kulich shape is round.
- when the kulich rises, brush its top but not sides with an egg combined with a spoonful of water and oil, then sprinkle with nuts;
- to check whether the kulich is ready or not, use a wooden toothpick. If the pastry sticks to it the kulich is undercooked; if the toothpick is dry the kulich is ready;
- bake kulich in moisturized oven, for this purpose put a pot with hot water on its bottom; temperature 200-240 C;
- baking duration depends on kulich size. If it gets burned on top, cover it with wet paper.

Easter Kulich with Dry Yeast

SAF-MOMENT yeast - 1 packet (11g)
500g flour
150g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
150g raisins
150g butter
3 eggs
vanillin – a knife tip
for sprinkle:
1 tbsp powdered sugar
for brushing: 1/3 egg

Cooking:
Mix SAF-MOMENT yeast and half the flour. Add heated milk and leave the pastry in a warm place. When the pastry rises (in 40-60 minutes), add eggs rubbed with sugar and butter, vanillin and the remaining flour. Knead the pastry and leave to rise 40-60 minutes. When it rises, press it down. Add raisins preliminary mixed with a little flour, and once again leave to rise for 20-30 minutes. Grease the baking pan for the kulich with vegetable oil; fill 1/3 of the baking pan with pastry and leave to rise twice its size. Brush the top of the kulich with egg. Bake 35-40 minutes at 170-180 C, then 30-40 minutes at 150-160 C. Sprinkle the prepared kulich with powdered sugar.

Non-Staling Kulich

(for 1-2 kuliches)
3 cups flour
4.5 cups milk
1/2 cup dense yeast
1/2 cup sugar
50g flour
1.5 cups melted butter
2kg flour
for aromatic sugar:
4.2g pounded vanilla
16 drops rose oil, or 2 oranges peel, or 1 cup rose petals, or 1 tsp coffee
200-400g sugar

Cooking:
Take 3 cups of flour, add 3 cups of boiling milk, stir, cover, leave for 1 hour to rest. Add 1.5 cups of milk, 1/2 cups of dense yeast, 1/2 cup of sugar with vanilla or another flavourer (take 4.2g pounded vanilla, or 16 drops of rose oil, or peel of 2 oranges, or 1 cup of flowers like fleur d"orange, or 1 spoon of coffee, then pound with 200-400g sugar and leave in a covered utensils), a little flour, stir, leave to rise, knead, add 1.5 cups of warm butter, flour, knead dense pastry, make kuliches, leave to rise, and put in the oven. You will need 2 kg of flour.

Big Kulich

(for 1 kulich)
1kg flour
800ml milk
1/2 cup dense yeast
20 yolks
1 cup sugar
2 cups melted butter
salt to taste

Cooking:
Combine 1kg of flour, milk (800 ml), 1/2 cup of dense yeast, stir and leave to rise. Add 20 yolks, pound with 1 cup of sugar, add 2 cups of warm butter, add the salt and remaining flour, knead, leave to rise, knead again, pour into the baking pan; when the pastry rises the third time, bake in the oven for 1 hour. You will need 2 kg of flour.

English Kulich

(for 1 kulich)
800g flour
200g butter
200g sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
12.6-16.8g yeast
3 eggs
2 cups currants

Cooking:
Take 800g of flour, 200g of butter, 200g of sugar, 1 cup of hot milk, combine all the ingredients and knead the pastry. Then add 1/2 cup of milk with 12.6-16.8g yeast and leave to rise, add 3 yolks and 3 egg whites, and 2 cups of currants. Put into the baking pan and bake in the oven.

Confectionery Kulich

for pastry:
400g flour
100g sugar
160g cream margarine including 10g for baking pan buttering
160g melange
20g yeast
100g milk
80g raisins
2g salt
0.4g vanillin
for syrup:
60g sugar
20g wine
45g water
for fondant:
90 g sugar
25g water
30g jam, candied peels or fruit

Cooking:
Make the brew and leave for 4 hours at 30 C. Mix eggs, sugar, and salt, and heat to 35 C stirring slowly. Put the mixture to the brew, add sifted flour and make pastry. At the end add warmed butter, washed raisins and leave the pastry for 1-1.5 hours at 30-35 C; then press it down. Roll the pastry into a ball and lay onto a buttered baking pan. Leave for 1.5 hours and bake at 180-200 C for 60-70 minutes. Take it out of the baking pan, put upside down and flavour in syrup in 8-10 minutes, glaze with fondant and decorate with jam, candied peels or fruit.

Kulich with Raisins

(for 1 portion)
800g
200g butter
50g fresh yeast
5 eggs
200g sugar
1 cup milk
200g raisins
salt to taste

Cooking:
Melt butter, add hot milk, sugar, salt, mix and chill down, then stir in flour, foaming yeast dissolved in a little milk, stir well, put in a warm place for fermentation. When the pastry rises, add 5 yolks, 5 whisked egg whites, raisins, knead thoroughly, put the pastry into a well-buttered baking pan sprinkled with flour, fill it to the half. When the pastry rises to the edges, bake at 180 C until ready.

Polish Kulich

(for 1 portion)
600g flour
1 cup milk
2 cups cream
50g fresh yeast
10 eggs
800g sugar plus as much flour as you may need

Cooking:
Combine 1 cup of hot milk, 2 cups of hot cream and flour, stir, leave to chill down. Add foaming yeast dissolved in a little milk and 2 eggs, mix, cover the pastry with a linen napkin, and put in a warm place for fermentation. When the pastry rises, add 8 yolks rubbed white with half sugar, and 8 egg whites whisked with the other half into a stable foam; mix from top to bottom, adding flour as required, and leave the pastry to rise again. Then beat up the pastry, put into a buttered baking pan sprinkled with flour, filling it to the half. Let the pastry rise. Bake at 180 C until ready.

Simple Kulich

(for 1 kulich)
1kg flour
600g milk
50-70g fresh yeast
20 eggs
200g sugar
500g butter
salt to taste plus as much flour as you may need

Cooking:
Combine flour with warm milk, foaming yeast dissolved in a little milk, put in a warm place for fermentation, having covered with a towel or a linen napkin. When the pastry rises, add 20 yolks rubbed white with sugar, warm melted bitter, salt and mix thoroughly. Add stable foam of whisked egg whites and carefully (not to destroy the foam) add as much flour as it will take to make the pastry dense enough. Leave the pastry to rise again. Then beat up the pastry (to remove the accumulated carbonic gas), put into a well buttered baking pan, filling it to the half, let rise to the edges of the baking pan, bake at 180 C until ready.

Boiling Pastry Kulich

600g flour
3/4L milk
50-70g fresh yeast
40 eggs
500g sugar
700g butter
salt to taste plus as much flour as you may need

Cooking:
Add boiling milk to flour and stir, chill down. Add foaming yeast dissolved in a little milk, put in a warm place to rise. Then add yolks rubbed white with sugar and mix. Add egg whites whisked into stable foam, mix well again and put in a warm place to rise again. Then add melted warm, but not hot butter, beat up pastry as well as possible, put into a buttered baking pan sprinkled with flour filling it to the half. When the pastry rises to the edges, brush it with yolk, bake at 180 C until ready.

Almond Kulich

(for 1 kulich)
1kg flour
1/2L milk
50-70g fresh yeast
5 eggs
200g sugar
300g butter
200g shelled almond
1 lemon
150g raisins
salt to taste

Cooking:
Boil milk, chill down. Dissolve yeast in a little milk with a tablespoon of sugar. Add flour to the milk, add foamed yeast, mix well, cover with a towel and put in a warm place for fermentation. When the pastry rises, add 5 yolks whisked with the remaining sugar, melted warm butter, grated lemon peel, shelled and crushed almonds, raisins, salt and, at last, egg whites whisked into stable foam. Knead thoroughly mixing from top to bottom. Put the pastry into a buttered baking pan sprinkled with flour, let rise, brush with yolk, sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 180 C until ready.

Bon appetite!