Typical Bulgarian Feast Bread

Bread bears strong symbolism in Bulgarian folklore and the culinary

tradition. It is present in various rituals and customs, and it is a

symbol of hospitality, family and home.

Special feast bread is baked for every holiday in Bulgaria. The

Ritual bread has various shapes and decorations, depending on the

season, the established celebrated holiday traditions or the

imagination of the hostess.

Making round loaves is still a widespread practice throughout the

country.

Ingredients

500 g flour

10 g yeast

1 tea cupful fresh milk

2 eggs

1 teaspoonful sugar

1 spoonful vegetable oil

salt to taste

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in a small amount of tepid water

and let it rise. Mix the flour, the milk, the egg

whites, the vegetable oil, the sugar and the salt and

then add the yeast. Shape a ball of the soft dough

thus produced. Wrap it in a cheese-cloth and soak

it in a large vessel full of water.

Take it out when it comes to float. Spread it in a

baking dish buttered beforehand. Punch the loaf

with a fork several times and spread the egg yolk

on top.

Bake it on a medium oven. After taking the bread

out, cover it with a moist cloth in order to prevent its

crust from getting too hard.

Christmas in Bulgaria wouldn't be the same

without koledna pitka, a round loaf of bread

that is broken into pieces by the head of the

house.

Each family member is given a piece. A coin

is hidden inside the round bread and

whoever gets it will have luck, health and

prosperity in the coming year.

The pita for Christmas Eve is made without

eggs and often with baking soda instead of

yeast.

The pita is often elaborately decorated with

religious and family symbols made of dough

on top of the bread.

BULGARIAN SODA BREAD (Sodena Pitka)

Ingredients:

3 medium sized eggs

1 ½ cups yoghurt

½ tsp. salt

1 ½ tsp. baking soda

2-3 tbsp. sunflower oil

800 gr. flour

½ egg yolk

Directions:

o Mix the eggs with the yoghurt

o Add the salt and baking soda

o Add the oil

o Pour the flour in a baking pan

o Make a well in the middle of the flour and start pouring

the egg mix in the well while mixing thoroughly with the

flour to make the dough (if the dough is too tough, add

some lukewarm water / if dough is too sticky, add some

flour

o Knead the dough for about 15 min. and form into a flat

circle

o Brush the top with the egg yolk and prick the top

evenly with a fork

o Bake for 10 min in a pre-heated oven -180C

o Lower to 150C and bake for another 30-40 min

o Take out, sprinkle the top with cool water and wrap in a

clean cotton cloth

o Leave it wrapped for 15 min before serving

Bulgarian Easter Bread - KOZUNAK

It's a slightly sweet

yeast-raised bread

with raisins or nuts

that crosses the line

between bread and

coffee cake.

Ingredients for the dough

dry ingredients

7 or 8 cups (depends how big the eggs are) sifted

flour

1/8 tsp. salt

liquid ingredients

6 large eggs

1 and 1/3 cup white sugar

yeast mixture

4 tsp. dry yeast

1 and 1/4 cup lukewarm milk

1 tsp. sugar

additional

2/3 cup melted butter

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 extra egg for brushing the crust before baking

optional:

2-3 tbsp. lemon zest ( if you like it) or lemon

flavour.

Blend the flour with the salt and 1 tbsp. vanilla. Make a well and add the eggs. Warm up

the milk. Melt down the yeast in part of the lukewarm milk. Add the sugar in the rest of

the milk and stir to dissolve it.

Start making the sweet bread dough gradually adding the yeast, milk and sugar. Mix well

until you get thick and sticky dough. Twist and knead the dough, as you slowly add the

vegetable oil. The process requires some physical effort. Add the lemon zest and

knead again until it is well blended. Place the dough in a large, coated with oil pot to rest

and rise. Cover it with clean cloth.

Once the dough has doubled its volume, turn it onto an oiled working surface and knead

again. The purpose of it is to remove all the air bubbles from the dough, to assure nice

and smooth bread texture.

In the past, the women used to "beat" the dough 100 times, to make sure the kozunak

bread bakes well.

Once the dough is ready, split it into halves. Divide each half into 3 equally large dough

balls. Knead in raisins, than twist and form long dough ribbons. Braid the dough ribbons

and place them in coated with oil baking pan. Glaze the bread with egg yolk mixed with

milk. Sprinkle it with sugar and let it rest and rise again. When it doubles its size, bake it

at 180 C. After about 20 min. lower the temperature to 150C and bake for another 20

min. To make sure the bread is baked, gently poke it with a wooden stick. If it comes out

dry, the sweet bread is done.

You can add not only raisins, but also nuts, jams and anything else you like.

"Mekici" are favorite and traditional snack for every Bulgarian. We love them

filled with cheese, but they’re very yummy with powdered sugar as well.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 egg

15g yeast

0.2 l milk

50 g sugar

1g salt

oil for frying

You mix the yeast with a little bit of warm water,

1/4 flour and the sugar and leave the mixture for

10 minutes. After that you add the egg, the milk,

the salt and the rest of the flour. Make a thin

sheet from the dough and cut circles, semi-

circles or just different shapes form it with a

glass. After that you deeply fry your "mekitsi" in

a pan. Serve sprinkled with sugar!