Many cultures/cuisines have sweet breads which may appear regularly or only at feast times such as Easter. My paternal grandmother made them any time she wanted to make us happy. In Hungary, sweet bread is called kalacs (kull lotch).
I have previously written about my paternal grandmother who I called the “Kalacs Queen”. She was so good at making Hungarian sweet bread. Since her death decades ago, I have had to content myself with buying challah bread to try and replicate that experience - though her bread seemed a bit sweeter. In this recipe, I am still not sure if I have that part right. With no written recipe from her, I have cobbled together a combo recipe that yielded good results! (You may want to try her Sweet Buns with Ricotta.)
This recipe makes 2 round braided loaves.
Depending on how quickly you work and the proofing times, this should take 2.5 - 3 hours. (Only 30 minutes is the bake time.)
Getting Ready
make sure you have Instant Yeast and check the expiry date
stand mixer with the dough hook
two baking sheets lined with parchment
whipping cream
bread flour
4 eggs, sugar, milk, and lemon
once you start braiding, preheat your oven to 355 F
1 pkg instant yeast (2.25. tsp/ 8 g)
1 tsp granulated sugar
3/4 cup (175 ml) milk
Take a peek at Notes below re the amount and types of yeast.
I mention that if using Instant yeast it can be added to the dry ingredients, but I’m going to go with the method used in most of the recipes I researched and activate the yeast in warm milk. Add the granulated sugar to the lukewarm milk (see package for recommended temp) and stir a wee bit to help it dissolve. Then add the yeast and give it a brief stir. Let the mixture rest for 5-8 minutes.
500 g bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (110 g) superfine sugar
3 egg yolks
zest of one lemon
2 TB salted butter, melted
200 ml whipping cream
yeast mixture
Egg Wash
1 egg
pinch salt
poppy seeds (optional)
Technically regular sugar is fine, or use superfine. Add the dry ingredients to the large bowl of an electric mixer and briefly mix with the dough hook attachment.
Mix together the egg yolks, lemon zest, melted butter and whipping cream.
With the mixer on low, to the dry ingredients slowly add the above mixture and then the yeast mixture. Knead on low speed until no dry flour remains - about 2 minutes. Once all the ingredients are incorporated, mix on medium speed until the dough clears the sides of the bowl and is smooth and elastic - 3-4 minutes (maybe more).
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit in a “warm” place until it has doubled in size. Or… try this. Use the proofing setting on your oven. Adjust oven racks to middle and lowest positions. Place the dough on the middle rack and place a loaf pan on the bottom of the oven - fill it with 3 cups of boiling water - this moisture will help in the proofing stage. Close the oven door, and let the dough rise until doubled, about 45-60 minutes.
While forming/braiding the sweet breads preheat the oven to 355F.
On a clean, unfloured surface cut the dough in half (to make 2 loaves). Cut each half into 4 equal pieces (4 for each loaf), and form each piece into a ball. Lay them out on the work surface or a baking sheet and cover them with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise again for 5-15 minutes.
Next, you’ll be braiding 4 pieces for one loaf. Use flour on the work surface sparingly. Why? As you braid the pieces they must stick together and dough that has picked up too much flour will not do that. Aim for just enough flour to keep the dough from being “glued” to the work surface.
If you’ve ever made gnocchi, you’ll be skilled at rolling each of the four balls into a rope about 14-16 inches long, making them thinner at the ends - that makes it easier to tuck the ends under.
The braiding method varies and always seems hard at first. Breathe in, breathe out - you can do this - and will later laugh at how easy it is. Here are some videos demo-ing methods - not all quite the same. From Annamaria; from Joy of Kosher - her “rule” is “under goes over neighbour” PS Don’t cut off the ends of the ropes - just tuck them under; from Veena Azmanov - click on Video in her top menu. If you subscribe to America’s Test Kitchen they also have nice instructions on this. Pinch loose ends together and tuck them underneath. Do this for both loaves.
To keep the bottoms of the loaves from getting too dark, nest together two rimmed bake sheets. Line the top one with parchment.
Set the two loaves - not too close together - on the same bake sheet. Whisk together one egg and a pinch of salt and brush the loaves with this egg wash. Go right into the cracks.
Let the loaves rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Brush with egg wash again (using an additional egg if you need it) and sprinkle with poppy seeds if desired. Bake in the middle of an oven preheated to 355 F until golden brown. America’s Test Kitchen suggests that a temperature probe should measure about 195 F. Let it cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes before devouring!
Notes and Tips...
Yeast - can be so confusing. There’s Instant (Quick Rise) and Active Traditional. The latter needs to be activated - usually in warm liquid with a bit of sugar. If it doesn’t bubble up, the yeast is “dead” - don’t use it. An Instant yeast package includes instructions re the ideal temperature for the liquid that will be used to activate it (around 100F) BUT technically that stage can be skipped and Instant yeast can be added to the dry ingredients. (ATK now specifies Instant yeast in all its recipes and adds it to the dry ingredients.) A dough made with traditional yeast will need a slightly longer proofing time than one made with Instant yeast. Here’s a primer.
Yeast Amount. These days one package of Instant Yeast will contain 2.25 tsp of product (7 g). Some recipes ask for 1 TB of yeast. Go ahead and open a second package if you want but it works fine if you just use the one packet. It may take a bit longer for the dough to rise.
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