Cooking a wedding loaf

Giving the loaf to the young for a wedding is a long-standing Slavic tradition that is still alive today. In this article, we will talk about how to step by step make a wedding cake with your own hands at home.

A wedding is one of the happiest days in the life of any person. There are a lot of customs associated with this event, which most families are happy to follow. One of them is a wedding loaf, which was baked to the newlyweds in ancient Russia. The obligation to prepare 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 the right treat, 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 has children. Often this is the godmother or aunt of the groom. The good energy of a person is very important, which will bring the best thoughts to 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 the wedding cake. For example, it is believed that newlyweds who have tried bread and salt will calmly go through any obstacles hand in hand. Another superstition says: whoever bites off a larger piece will be the main thing in the house.Whether this is true or not is unknown, but young people 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 the bread in a round shape, as it is a symbol of the sun and heat. Many bakeries and private confectioners offer their services for preparing a loaf, however, it is better to make a wedding cake yourself. There is the option of making baked pastry from salt dough, but for the wedding it is preferable to make sweet, so that the life of the young is as sweet and beautiful as a traditional loaf.

In general, baking takes about four hours, three of them need a test to rise. If you correctly calculate the amount of ingredients and replace the dough well, the loaf will turn out airy and soft.

This recipe is the most popular. The prepared dough turns out magnificent, and the loaf is soft and sweet. The long and not so easy cooking process is offset by the amazing taste of the wedding cake.

Components:

• 1.2 kg of wheat flour;
• 1/2 liter of milk;
• 5 eggs;
• 150 g of 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 the 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 is well mixed. Then yeast should be added to the mixture and beat again with a mixer.
• Next in line is flour, however, before adding it, it should be sieved. This process enriches flour with oxygen, baking is more magnificent and of high quality.

• Knead the dough thoroughly with your hands until it stops sticking to your fingers. A homogeneous and smooth mass should be obtained, which should be covered with cellophane and wrapped in a towel so that it does not become covered with a hard crust. Put the bundle in a warm place for two hours so that the dough rises. When the mass increases in size, it must again be kneaded and cut off the 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 the loaf, the newlyweds will live in abundance. Money is placed just in the process of forming the loaf.
• Cover the baking sheet with baking paper and lay the formed pie on it. Heat the oven to 200 degrees and place a small bowl of water inside. While the oven is warming 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 grease the loaf with a silicone brush so that the surface of the pie becomes golden in color during baking.
• Take care of decorating the dish. A piece of dough taken in advance must be rolled out into a thin layer and the figures cut out with shapes. You can weave a pigtail and wrap a pie with it. To keep the decor 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, turn the product so that it bakes evenly and leave for another twenty minutes. Cover the round tray with a cloth and put a finished loaf on it, let it cool. Sprinkle 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 much easier 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 salts;
• 4 tbsp. premium wheat flour.

Melt the butter over medium heat. Separate the yolks from the proteins and beat with three tablespoons of granulated sugar. In milk, add the remaining spoonful of sweetener and a pack of yeast. Pour it into a sugar-yolk mixture.

Beat the whites well with salt and send to the rest of the ingredients, then add 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 put on a baking sheet with baking paper. Cover the loaf with a towel and put it 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 the towel to the cake.

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

As soon as a golden crust appears, the temperature must be reduced to 180 degrees and cover the pie with foil, after which the oven is another hour. Get the finished wedding bread from the oven and grease it with sweet water, then let it cool and meet the newlyweds.

When decorating a wedding loaf, you can not restrain the flight of fancy. However, it should be remembered that each figure has a certain meaning.

• For example, clusters 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 rolled dough. Using a thin stick, marks are made on the leaves in the form of stripes.

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

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

• A pigtail is customary for each loaf. Decor is placed around the cake or from one edge. To get a beautiful and even pigtail, you should prepare three long bundles, connect on top and braid, fixing on the end. Then it should be carefully laid along the edge of the wedding cake.

• Roses mean love and passion. Juicy buds will perfectly decorate a wedding cake. First you need to 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 so that the flower turns out more magnificent.

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

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

As a decoration of the wedding cake, you can use non-traditional options. Many decorate it with flowers, stars, hearts, monograms and other figures at will. You can make them both from a piece separated from the main dough, and from a specially made one.

To prepare the dough for the figures, you will need 1 cup of water, 3 cups 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 of 4 proteins and 2 glasses of flour. Stir the ingredients until an elastic mass is obtained. Then you can sculpt the decor.

For a wedding loaf recipe, see below.