Romanian Sweet Braided Bread
Cozonac is the king of the Romanian celebration table — the rich, sweet, braided bread without which there is no Christmas or Easter. The dough, heavy with egg yolk, butter and citrus zest, demands time and strong arms: it is kneaded at length until it forms strands, and the slow rise is half the success. Tradition calls for a warm, quiet house while the dough rises — no draughts and no slammed doors, lest the cozonac take fright. The filling shifts from region to region — walnut, cocoa, Turkish delight, poppy seed or raisins — but the fluffy strands and citrus perfume stay constant. At Easter it sits beside pască, and the leftover slices are dunked the next day in coffee or milk. It is a recipe learned within the family and baked, year after year, with a touch of nerves, because every cook knows a well-risen cozonac is a small victory.
Christmas and Easter bread
A fixture on the celebration table
Braided dough
Fluffy strands, the mark of a good cozonac
Walnut filling
Walnut, cocoa and Turkish delight
Ingredients 12 servings
- 1kg flour
- 420ml warm milk
- 50g fresh yeast
- 200g sugar
- 6 egg yolks
- 150g soft butter
- Grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp rum extract
- A pinch of salt
- Filling: 250g ground walnuts, 2 tbsp cocoa, 100g Turkish delight, 100ml milk, 2 egg whites
- 1 beaten egg, for glazing
How to make it
- 1Activate the yeast with a little warm milk and a teaspoon of sugar and let it foam.
- 2Cream the egg yolks with the sugar, salt and citrus zest, then combine with the flour, the yeast starter and the rest of the milk.
- 3Knead vigorously for 15–20 minutes, working in the soft butter gradually, until the dough turns elastic and pulls away from your hands — this is the step that gives the fluffy strands.
- 4Cover and let it rise in a warm, draught-free place until doubled.
- 5Roll out sheets, spread them with the filling of walnuts briefly cooked in milk with cocoa and egg white, scatter pieces of Turkish delight and roll up; braid two ropes and set them in lined tins.
- 6Let them rise again, brush with beaten egg and bake at 170°C for 45–50 minutes, until they sound hollow when tapped on the base.
Nutritional info
per serving (~350 g)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
