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”

  5. Yum! I’ve not made bread in ages. We moved, & then my busy season got underway. I’m eager to get back to it, though, & I’d love to add to my Artisan Bread library!

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  11. My husband might despise cinnamon, but I love cinnamon rolls and drizzled icing. Might have to make those “for the kids”!
    Is this open internationally, or just in North America?

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  15. Yum! All the bread we’ve made from The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day has been wonderful! Planning to make hot cross buns this week from the recipe you posted last Easter.

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  16. In these days of uncertainty its still nice to be able to make good healthy and tasty homemade foods

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  17. I learned to bake bread from my mom. I’ve had many failures but now love making bread & yeast dough goodies. Bread in five is a marvelous way to accomplish them! I would be honored to own one of your books!

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  21. Would love to win. I have decided to take up break baking during quarantine (even though I’m a physician and don’t get to quarantine).

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  22. I’ve been making your master recipe on a regular basis for years! so nice having it in the fridge to use when ever needed. Thanks!

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  24. These days I feel like baking is one of the few things holding us all together! Would love to make some loaves and share with friends.

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  26. Should the recipe for the popover pan be 1 ½ pounds of the brioche dough? Part of the number was accidentally cut off. Thanks!!

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  27. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!. Now more than ever we need you. I hope I will be one of the lucky winners!!. God bless you ‍

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  28. I’ve been following you since I bought your first book.
    I’d love the Holiday and Celebration book and I use a lot if yeast.
    Thanks for the giveaway.

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  29. This looks so beautiful! I’ve made the basic dough recipe several times and I always get great results! The celebration book looks wonderful!!

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  32. Oh how I would love to win! I love your recipes and would love a book of my own, plus some yeast to bake all the yummy breads!!

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  33. I am in a 14 day quarantine at my moms house so I am excited to be able to make bread with my mom soon!

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  34. I would love to add the Holiday & Celebration book to the original Artisan Bread in 5 min a day on my bookshelf. . I’ve baked 14 loaves of the artisan bread since being quarantined. I’ve used the base recipe & played with it to bake as artisan in a Dutch oven, as sandwich bread & adapted the Boardroom Cinnamon Raisin recipe to use with the standard dough recipe (since I usually have the dough ready in my refrigerator). Would love more celebration bread recipes to share with my immediate family now & my extended family when all this mess is over and we can celebrate together (breaking some yummy bread together).

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  36. Thank you! I’ve been desperately searching for a recipe for Easter bread that is like the one my Ukrainian grandmother used to bake. She used to bake hers in wax paper lined coffee cans. She was an ethnic Assyrian born in the Ukraine married to an Armenian and living in Iran. She eventually moved to Florida to be near us. Thank you for sharing this recipe! I will bake it this week.

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  45. Thank you for this wonderful contest! Would love to try this recipe! I have one of your books and love it!!

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  50. I love your method for making bread. My grown children love that I am baking bread since they get samples of the results. Winning a book would be awesome.
    Thanks for having the passion and patience to develop the recipes for your books!

    Reply

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