Cooking a wedding loaf

Giving a loaf to young people for a wedding is an old Slavic tradition that is still alive today. In this article, we will show you how to make your own wedding cake step by step at home.

A wedding is one of the happiest days in the life of any person. There are many customs associated with this event, which most families are happy to do. One of them is a wedding loaf, which was baked for newlyweds in ancient Russia. The responsibility for preparing the festive bread lies with the groom's relatives, who must bring the cake to the bride's house during the matchmaking, and then to the event itself.

It is important not only to bake a treat correctly, but also to choose the right person for such a responsible task. It is recommended to entrust cooking to a married woman who has a strong family and children. Often this is done by the godmother or the groom's aunt. The kind energy of a person is very important, which will bring the best thoughts into the product.

A loaf is baked directly on the wedding day, it is advisable to make sure that a married, decent man sends bread to the oven. When the dish is ready, it must be hidden from the evil eye.

There are several signs associated with a wedding cake. For example, it is believed that newlyweds who have tasted bread and salt will calmly go through any obstacles hand in hand. Another superstition says: whoever bites off the largest piece will be in charge of the house.Whether this is true or not is unknown, but the young are happy to pay tribute to traditions and take part in biting the wedding loaf.

There are several loaf recipes, each of which is good in its own way. It is important to bake exactly round bread, as it is a symbol of the sun and warmth. Many bakeries and private pastry chefs offer their services for making a loaf, but it is better to make the wedding cake yourself. There is an option for making baked goods from salted dough, but for a wedding it is preferable to make it from sweet, so that the life of the young is as sweet and beautiful as a traditional loaf.

In general, it takes about four hours to bake, three of which are needed for the dough to rise. If you correctly calculate the amount of ingredients and replace the dough well, the loaf will turn out to be airy and soft.

This recipe is the most popular. The cooked dough turns out to be fluffy, and the loaf is soft and sweet. The long and not very easy cooking process is compensated by the amazing taste of the wedding cake.

Components:

• 1.2 kg of wheat flour;
• 1/2 l of milk;
• 5 eggs;
• 150 g granulated sugar;
• 2 tsp powder;
• 1.5 tsp vanilla sugar;
• 400 g butter;
• 3 packs of yeast for baking;
• 4 tbsp. l. honey;
• 1 tbsp. l. salt.

The cooking process is as follows.

• Shake eggs with a mixer and gradually add granulated sugar. When the mass becomes homogeneous, warm milk is poured into it, oil and salt are added. Everything mixes well. Then add yeast to the mixture and beat again with a mixer.
• The next in line is flour, however, before adding, it should be sieved. This process enriches the flour with oxygen, the baked goods are more luxuriant and of higher quality.

• Knead the dough well with your hands until it stops sticking to your fingers. You should get a homogeneous and smooth mass, which should be covered with cellophane and wrapped in a towel so that it does not become covered with a hard crust. Place the roll in a warm place for two hours to rise the dough. When the mass increases in size, you need to knead it again and cut off a fourth part for jewelry.
• From the remaining mass, make a circle and add the filling in the form of raisins. There is a belief that if you put a coin in a loaf, the newlyweds will live in abundance. The money is put just in the process of forming a loaf.
• Cover a baking sheet with baking paper and place the formed cake on it. Heat the oven to 200 degrees and place a small bowl of water inside. While the oven is heating up, the dough will rise a little more. In the meantime, you should prepare a mixture of egg yolk, a pinch of sugar and salt and brush the loaf with it with a silicone brush so that the surface of the cake turns golden during baking.
• Take care of the decoration of the dish. A piece of dough taken in advance must be rolled out into a thin layer and cut out figures with shapes. You can braid a pigtail and wrap it around the cake. For the decor to hold well, it should be moistened with water before attaching.
• Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake the loaf for half an hour. Next, you should turn the product so that it bakes evenly and leave for another twenty minutes. Cover a round tray with a cloth napkin and put the finished loaf on it, let it cool. Sprinkle the bread with powdered sugar or vanilla.
• If the dessert is baked in an electric oven, then after thirty minutes it is recommended to lower the heat level to 180 degrees.

This recipe is significantly lighter than the previous one and contains fewer ingredients. The main thing is to knead the dough well so that it becomes soft and pliable.

Ingredients:

• 50 g butter;
• 4 eggs;
• 6 tbsp. l. warm milk;
• 4 tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
• 1 pack of dry yeast;
• 1 tsp salt;
• 4 tbsp.wheat flour of the highest grade.

Melt the butter over medium heat. Separate the yolks from the whites and beat with three tablespoons of granulated sugar. Add the remaining spoonful of sweetener and a packet of yeast to the milk. Pour it into the sugar-yolk mixture.

Beat the whites well with salt and send to the rest of the ingredients, then add the pre-sifted flour and butter. Knead the resulting mass with your hands and continue the process until the dough stops sticking to your fingers.

Set aside one fifth of the mixture for decoration, form a circle from the remaining piece and place on a baking sheet with baking paper. Cover the loaf with a towel and put in a warm place to rise. Roll a piece of dough into a thin layer and cut out the decorations, sprinkle them with water and send them under a towel to the pie.

When the dough rises, attach the finished figures and put everything together in an oven preheated to 200 degrees.

As soon as a golden brown crust appears, the temperature should be reduced to 180 degrees and the cake should be covered with foil, after which it will be baked for another hour. Take the finished wedding bread out of the oven and grease with sweet water, then let it cool and welcome the newlyweds.

When decorating a wedding loaf, you can not hold back the flight of imagination. However, it should be remembered that each figurine has a specific meaning.

• For example, bunches of grapes are a sign of fertility and large offspring. The fruits themselves are made up of small balls, and the leaves are cut from the rolled dough. Using a thin stick, marks are made on the leaves in the form of stripes.

• Swans mean eternal love and fidelity. First, roll out two 6 cm long sausages and slightly stretch the piece on one side, bending it. This will create the body, neck and head. It remains only to form the eyes, beak, designate the wings and tail.

• One of the mandatory decor elements for a wedding loaf is viburnum bunches, symbolizing love and abundance. The decoration is made from several thick balls, cut in half and attached to the leaves or directly to the surface of the loaf.

• It is customary to make a pigtail for each loaf. The decor is placed around the cake or on one edge. To obtain a beautiful and even braid, you should prepare three long bundles, connect on top and braid, fastening at the end. Then it should be neatly laid around the edge of the wedding cake.

• Roses mean love and passion. Juicy buds will perfectly decorate a wedding cake. To begin with, you should make four thin circles, the first is rolled into a roll, and the rest are wrapped around it. The upper edges need to be slightly bent to make the flower more lush.

• Leaves are a symbol of youth and abundance. To create this decoration, you need to roll out the dough into a thin layer, cut out diamonds and make veins with a knife.

When serving a loaf, it is necessary to put a salt shaker on it so that the young can taste bread and salt. So that the container with the seasoning does not tip over, a small depression is made right inside the loaf. During cooking, cut a small recess in the center of the cake, decorating its edges with various patterns in the form of ears or braids.

Non-traditional options can also be used as a decoration for a wedding cake. Many people decorate it with flowers, stars, hearts, monograms and other figurines as desired. They can be made either from a piece separated from the main dough, or from a specially made one.

To prepare the dough for the figures, you will need 1 glass of water, 3 glasses of flour and 1 tsp. salt.Mix flour with salt, add water and knead the dough. Roll out with a rolling pin and make decorative elements, then bake them in the oven. The second option is made with 4 proteins and 2 glasses of flour. Stir the ingredients until an elastic mass is obtained. Then you can sculpt the decor.

The recipe for making a wedding loaf, see below.