at the time when christianity was accepted in serbia, many families were baptised and chose their own saint. this is why saint nicholas is celebrated by so many families on the 19th of december. for the orthodox families st. nicholas is a special day with special rituals and prayers, to others it only means a day to be with your family and enjoy lots of food. |
this st. nicholas bread is traditionally made in orthodox families for the feast of st. nicholas. i heard that in other families a coin is put in the bread and the person who gets the piece with the coin will be rich in the future. i do not believe that this is part of a religious ritual, but i can be wrong. |
ingredients for the bread |
1 tablespoon sugar |
15 gram fresh yeast or 1 package dry yeast (7 gr) |
500 ml lukewarm milk |
1 kilo flour (all purpose) |
1 teaspoon salt |
150 gr sugar |
100 gr butter |
3 egg yolks |
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel and some lemon juice |
ingredients for the braid |
250 gram flour |
180 ml water |
little bit salt |
how to make the bread |
put the (fresh) yeast in a small bowl together with a teaspoon sugar and a little bit lukewarm milk. mix and set aside so the yeast can start to work. yeast usually activates between 25 and 28 degrees celsius. |
take another bowl and beat the egg yolks, add the rest of the milk and stir well. |
put the flour, sugar, salt, lemon peel and a bit of lemon juice together in a bowl. add the softened butter in small pieces and knead until the mixture has a fine texture. |
mix the yeast mixture with the milk/egg mixture and add it to the flour. knead everything well until the dough becomes a ball (leaving the bowl clean). put the dough into another bowl, cover it with a damp cloth and put it on a warm place. let the dough rise for 2 hours. |
after these two hours knead the dough again (shortly) on a floured surface. make a ball again and let the dough rise again for 1 hour. |
form a round bread and put it on a greased baking tray or use greased baking paper. you can also use a round baking pan, don't forget to grease it |
make the dough for the braid by mixing 250 gram flour, 180 ml water and a pinch of salt together in a bowl. make a soft dough, divide it in three pieces and form 3 rolls. make a braid twice the diameter of the bread. cut the braid in half and form a cross on the bread, use a water/egg mixture to glue it on the bread. |
bake the st. nicholas bread in a preheated oven on 180 degrees celsius for about 60 minutes. |
