Russian Easter Bread (Kulich)
This Authentic traditional Russian Easter Bread is a delicious soft brioche full of Amaretto soaked cranberries and white chocolate, then decorated with royal icing and sprinkles. I translated this recipe from a Russian Website and it is totally authentic. It is AMAZING!!! I can't begin to tell you how good it is!
Equipment
- Panettone Baking Molds I used Panettone Baking Molds 2-3/4" x 2” or 3 x 3 cake pans.
- Hand or Stand Mixer
- Food Thermometer
Ingredients
Yeast Flour Mixture
- 11 g Active Yeast
- 200 ml Milk
- 130 g AP Flour
Kulich Bread Dough
- 185 g Butter Melted
- 780 g AP Flour Sifted 2 Times
- 1 tsp Salt
- 20 Lrg Egg Yolks - This is not a typo. 20 is the right number. :-) Room Temp
- 180 g Sugar
- 200 g Dried Cranberries or Raisins
- 200 g White Chocolate Bar or Chips
- 1 Egg For Egg Wash
Instructions
Soak Dried Cranberries up to 2 hours - 2 weeks Before Making Dough
- Soak dried cranberries in liquid of choice. You can use water, orange juice, fruit juice, rum, brandy or even whiskey or other alcohols of choice. I used Amaretto, and it was really good! The alcohol taste is not there, it is just a wonderful flavor. I soaked mine for about 3 hours before I made my dough, but some soak up to 2 weeks. The longer they soak, the more flavor they will have. Put dried cranberries or raisins in a bowl, then cover with liquid. Cover bowl until using. To store overnight or longer, store in fridge. Bring to room temp before using.
Yeast Dough
- Warm milk to between 80℉ - 90℉, then add in yeast and 130g of flour. Whisk together and set in a warm place to rise. Depending on temperature of where it rises, can take approx and hour or so.
Prepare Other Ingredients
- Melt the butter in the microwave and set aside.
- Sift the 780 grams of flour twice. Add salt, whisk together and set aside.
- Separate the 20 yolks from the egg whites and set aside.
- Drain cranberries and dry. Cover with 1 to 1.5 T of flour. Stir to cover and set aside.
Make Kulich Dough
- Once the Yeast Dough has doubled in size, then proceed with mixing the Kulich dough. In a large bowl, mix the egg yolks and sugar together with a mixer. Don’t do this early and let the sugar/egg yolk mix sit, because the sugar can burn the eggs. Only do it once the Yeast Dough has doubled in size and you are ready to proceed with adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Add the melted butter to the egg yolk/sugar mixture, and whisk together, then add the Yeast Dough. Whisk to combine.
- Add in the flour mixture in thirds. Stir until just combined, then add cranberries and white chocolate. Don't over mix.
- Using your hand, pull the dough together. Cover with a damp towel and put in a warm place to rise for approximately 2 hours. Needs to double in size.
Prepare Baking Molds
- Prepare panettone molds or cake tins with deep sides. I used small panettone molds and 3 x 3 cake tins, because I wanted to try both, however you can use the size of your choice. I did not spray my panettone molds, but I will try it next time. For cake tins, brush with butter then line bottom and sides with parchment paper.
- Once dough has doubled, punch down. Then pull apart with hands and fill each mold to ½ - ¾ full. Stretch the dough to the bottom to make the tops are as smooth as possible.
- Place in a warm spot and let rise until doubled. Takes approximately an hour or so.
- Make Egg Wash. Combine egg with 1 tsp - 1 Tbsp of water.
- Once final rise is ready, brush egg wash over the top of each bread.
Bake
- Bake on an uncrowded cookie sheet. If the cookie sheet is too crowded, they will not bake evenly. Make sure there is space around each so the color of the bread and the bake is even. Bake until inside is 190℉. (I baked 6 at a time and it took approx 15 minutes)
- Remove the breads from the oven and put on it’s side and leave it in this position until the bottom cools down. (I actually for got to do this, but it’s in the original recipe).
Video
Notes
- I used small panettone molds and 3 x 3 cake tins. I wanted to try both of the sizes, however you can use the size of your choice. I did not spray my panettone molds, but I will try it next time. For cake tins, brush with butter then line bottom and sides with parchment paper. The cake tins made taller breads. Some use empty tin cans, like the kind canned veggies come in. I have not tried that.
- To speed rising I preheat my oven to 100 degrees F, and then turn it off. I wait a couple of minutes then put in the warm oven to rise.
- Bake on an uncrowded cookie sheet. If the cookie sheet is too crowded, they will not bake evenly. Make sure there is space around each so the color of the bread and the bake is even. I baked 6 at a time and it took approx 15 minutes.
- Once completely cooled, store in a bag or container with as little air as possible.