How to decorate a wedding loaf in an original way?

According to the tradition of our ancestors, at a wedding, parents should meet the newlyweds in front of the house with a loaf in their hands. Loaf represents family happiness, fertility. The richer and more beautiful the loaf - the more happiness in the family life will be for the newlyweds. Therefore, they attach great importance to its decoration.

Usually a festive wedding loaf began to bake on Saturday. For its preparation, married, experienced and happily married women were convened. It was believed that through the hands of such women, happiness and luck are transmitted into the family life of the bride and groom. Therefore, childless and divorced women and widows were not allowed in this case. It was believed that in this case the same fate could be repeated for the newlyweds.

Decoration details and their meaning:

• Bunches of Viburnum - an essential attribute of any wedding dish. Since ancient times, Kalina has been considered a berry of love and abundance. Therefore, on the pie it happens in abundance. To prepare such an ornament, it is necessary to roll up large balls and cut them in half. Attach the resulting halves to the surface of the pie so that clusters of viburnum are obtained.
• Pigtail, located along the edge of the loaf, symbolizes the sun. It is intended to light the way for a young family so that their life is bright and long.
• Ears of wheat mean fertility and wealth in the family.

• Roses symbolize love. Their presence on the holiday cake will perfectly complement the overall decoration and make the product more elegant.
• Leaves mean youth. This is the easiest item to decorate.

When preparing the pie, in the center make a recess for salt. It is decorated with different elements. By tradition, the newlyweds must pinch off the edge of the loaf together, dip in salt and eat. This will mean that they ate a pound of salt together and in the future they will have a happy life together.

Consider the step-by-step preparation of each decoration element. The material for decoration is the same dough as for the main cake.

• To prepare the roses, roll out five circles with a diameter of about five centimeters. We spread them on top of each other a step. Then we roll them together into a roll. Get a small puff roll. Cut it in half. Turn both halves over and spread on a flat surface. Bend the top edges of each layer. It turned out two beautiful roses.

• To make ears of wheat you have to craft three components. This is the ear, stems and branches.

1. To make an ear, we roll up a small roll of dough with a diameter of one centimeter. Tap one end so that a cone is formed. We make cuts with small scissors over the entire surface of the roller to make thorns. Then we slightly extend our roller, holding on to its ends. The result is an ear of wheat.
2. For the stem, you need to roll thin sticks of dough. Their thickness will depend on the test, the length is about 30 centimeters.
3. We make branches from thin dough, after rolling it out with a rolling pin. Cut it into strips one centimeter wide. At the end of the strips we make a cut to get a sharp end.
4. We connect all the elements together. We spread the stem on the loaf. We attach a spikelet to the upper part. On the edges of the stem we fasten the branches on both sides in the direction of the sharp end to the spikelet. The wheat ear is ready.

• To prepare the leaves, we sculpt rhombs of different sizes from the dough. On the edges of the rhombus, cut out small pieces of dough with a knife. It should have jagged edges. The decoration is ready.
• An integral element of a loaf is pigeons. By tradition, there should be two of them, since they symbolize peace and love. It may seem that preparing pigeons is an impossible task, but in reality the process is very simple. We make strips of dough about three centimeters long and half a centimeter wide. At the ends of the strip we tie knots. On one of them we make an incision with a knife to make a beak, and on the other a few cuts to make a tail. By flattening a little the foundation of our dove. With a sharp object, draw wings on it. We pluck feathers with small scissors. Pigeons are ready.

• Often, instead of pigeons, a loaf is decorated with swans. Making them is as easy as pigeons. Roll out two dough 6 centimeters long from the dough. It is necessary to stretch each of them in such a way that a small ball (head) is formed in the upper part, and an oblong oval (bird's body) is formed below. With a needle, we make eyes and a beak on the head. On the body squeeze the wings and tail.

As such, the principles and rules for decorating a wedding loaf do not exist. But there are some traditions that are trying to comply with the design of the cake. Usually in the center of the loaf they make a recess and install a salt shaker. To decorate it festively, elements such as roses, ears of wheat are used.

A pigtail is usually laid along the edge of the pie or wheat ears are laid out in the form of a small sheaf. You can also use all kinds of clusters of berries.

The remaining space of the loaf is filled with all kinds of elements, which were mentioned above. Recently, often used natural berries, ears of wheat and various decorative ornaments. This makes the cake not only festive and beautiful, but also original and unique. However, it should be remembered that everything should be in moderation. No need to get carried away and overdo it with decorations.

See how to bake a wedding loaf with your own hands in the next video.