Kulich

Kulich for Easter, Two Ways

BreadIn5 holiday breads, Sweets

Kulich (cool-ich) is an Easter bread that is scented and colored with saffron threads and topped with a sweet layer of icing. It is often made with St. Lucia Bun dough, but we took a favorite no-knead brioche dough from The New Artisan Bread in Five book and added a little saffron to it to make this version. If you scroll down, there’s also a recipe for ‘Cinnamon Roll Kulich’ – which is this same dough made with a cinnamon swirl center and baked in a popover pan to help keep its tall shape. Icing and sprinkles are also included, of course.

Kulich

2 pounds Brioche dough (page 300 of The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, or the recipe here on the website), with 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads mixed into the wet ingredients

All-purpose flour, for dusting

Egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water), for brushing the dough

Icing

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons cream (or more as needed for a thick but pourable consistency

To bake: Generously grease a panettone mold with butter (the mold I use in the photos is currently unavailable but it is a 6 x 6 inch panettone pan with a removable bottom. Many people also bake them in large, empty, parchment lined coffee cans to achieve the high domed loaf.) Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 2-pound (cantaloupe-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Place the ball in the greased panettone mold, seam-side down.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for 90 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F, with a rack placed in the center of the oven. Brush the dough with egg wash. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow the bread to cool on a wire rack.

Make the icing: Mix the confectioner’s sugar and heavy cream together until smooth and thick enough to cling to the cake. You don’t want it to drip off the sides (like the very first photo shows) but if it does (like the one directly above) it will still taste good. Drizzle the icing over the cake and cover with colorful sprinkles.

Cinnamon Roll Kulich

1 1/2 pounds Brioche dough (page 300 of The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, or the recipe here on the website), with 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads mixed into the wet ingredients

All-purpose flour for dusting

Filling

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Pinch salt

Icing

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons cream (or more as needed for a pourable consistency)

Grease a 12 cup (or two 6 cup) large popover pans. (If you don’t have popover pans, you can use a greased 9×13 inch baking pan.)

Roll the dough into 1/4-inch thick rectangle. Brush the entire surface with the melted butter. In a small bowl mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Spread the mixture over the butter topped dough. Use your hands to make sure you have an even coat of the sugar. Then roll the dough up, starting at the long end.

Use a Bread Knife, Kitchen Scissors or floss to cut the log into 12 equal pieces.

Loosely cover the buns and let them rest between 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The long rest will insure that you have a fluffy bun. (You can set these up the night before and let them rest overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning take them out and let them sit on the counter for about 45 minutes to an hour.) You may get away with slightly shorter rise, but the buns will not be quite as soft.

Preheat the oven to 350°F and place the rack in the middle of the oven.

Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, just until the centers are set when poked with your finger (they should be caramel colored). Turn the buns out of the pan (if using the popover pans). Let them cool on a wire rack.

Make the icing: Mix the confectioners’ sugar and heavy cream together until smooth and thick enough to cling to the cinnamon rolls. Drizzle the icing over each roll and cover with colorful sprinkles.

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584 thoughts to “Kulich for Easter, Two Ways”

  3. Have a little time right now to try your fabulous recipes. Winning the drawing would be the frosting on my day!

    Reply

  5. Your videos and recipes have been a life saver during this crazy time! Baking = therapy!!

    Reply

  10. Love your recipes, have been baking from the original book for years! Would love to win one of the new cookbooks if I get so lucky!

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  18. Can’t wait to try this and check out those other cookbooks! I love my new artisan bread in five minutes a day book!

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  19. Hi Zoe,

    Thank you for providing support during this time. Each of your posts is like a breath of fresh air… of bread in the oven. I hope I can make some bread soon!

    Sincerely,

    Viviam

    Reply

  20. I’m excited to learn some of my lost skills again from you and enter into winning yeast to make it possible.

    Reply

  28. Oh, I am so making this on Sunday! I’m still working a full schedule at a grocery store, so I don’t have loads of time to bake at home. BUT my company is giving us Easter Sunday off as an extra break and I am totally ok spending that time baking!

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  33. I’m always recommending these books to people. They’ve also saved my bacon. I needed a gift for my dad this Christmas. So he is now getting 6 months of bread of the month this year.

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  35. Looks delicious. We’ve been using our Bread in 5 cookbook on a weekly basis the last couple of weeks. Yum!

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  37. Love that baking is not only something that I have discovered but my two boys now too! We plan to give some of these ideas a try this weekend!

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  40. And now I need to buy BOTH of these pans! I am not sure which book I would choose… but thank you for offering this great contest!

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  43. I make your Artisan bread in 5 weekly. I love using it for bread and pizza crust—so easy. I’m want to try those cinnamon kulich

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  45. I tried your brioche recipe for the first time this past Sunday. It would be lovely to have your book for quick reference, and to try some of the other recipes. I have tried the cinnamon rolls (a hit with my six year old!). I also made the braid, and I love that the recipes are so flexible, because I did not have your filling, and used Nutella and strawberry preserves as filling.

    I did end up with one problem though. Lumpy dough! My guess is they formed during the initial mixing?

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  46. I have not made anything with yeast and I have always wanted to know how. Now with the time, It looks like it would be put to good use. I bake and have enjoyed that and the creativity that comes from makin and baking.

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    1. Those look amazing and I think I may actually have all the ingredient currently- which is often not the case

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  47. What a gorgeous bake! Love the addition of saffron. And I’m a sucker for a little bun, can’t wait to try this!

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  49. I’m so glad I found this website, I am looking forward to baking with yeast and enjoying all the finished goodies. Thanks for the great website!

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