The history of the origin of the loaf in Rus'. Wedding loaf photo

Types of loaf and chemical composition

In many processes of ceremonial meetings, the loaf plays one of the main roles when welcoming dear guests. After all, the Slavic peoples have long had a tradition of greeting guests with bread and salt, placing them on a towel, which indicated the highest disposition and respect of the hosts for those greeting them.

Among the main types of loaves are:

Festive.
Wedding.
Funeral.

To prepare any type of loaf listed above, baker's yeast, premium quality flour, cow's milk, chicken eggs and additional ingredients are used, which are the secret of housewives and enterprises producing this food product.

100g of holiday loaf contains:

Water – 0.
Proteins – 7.7.
Fats – 6.3.
Carbohydrates – 45.9.
Kcal – 276.

Considering the high level of calorie content of this product, due to the baking that is part of the holiday loaf, one should remember about moderation in consumption, especially for those who are watching their figure and counting the calories in their diet.

The benefits and harms of eating loaf

Baker's yeast used to bake a loaf contains 16% protein, and dry yeast - 50%.
Milk, flour, eggs, additives from raisins, dried apricots, dried fruits, which are part of the holiday loaf, are a source of minerals and vitamins necessary for humans.

Baker's yeast accumulates in the human body, absorbing vitamin B, while weakening the immune system.
Yeast fungi are dangerous for the beneficial intestinal microflora and promote the penetration of pathogenic bacteria into cells. Yeast microorganisms also disrupt the normal process of cell reproduction and cause the formation of tumors.

Ritual traditions associated with the festive loaf

Festive wedding loaf. Before starting to bake the wedding loaf, the craftswoman had to wash herself, put a cross on her neck, and tie a scarf around her head. While baking, women sang songs and read prayers for the happiness and well-being of the young family. The dough was kneaded in a large form with a cross, and the main cook, who was in charge of the loaf, was allowed to touch the dough.

A man, a good family man, had to send the loaf into the oven. The role of the womb was assigned to the stove, and the masculine principle was personified by the shoulder blade on which the loaf was fed into the stove.

The wedding loaf was decorated with ears and braids made of dough. Often they sculpted figures of the bride and groom, decorating them with flowers and patterns of viburnum, which were also sculpted in a special way from dough. All these decorations symbolized love.

After the wedding, the loaf was given to the newlyweds. The newlyweds kissed the loaf three times, and then cut it and treated the guests.

Today's traditions are simplified. The loaf is baked in bakeries, but still the loaf is still one of the main attributes of every wedding ceremony today.

Recipe for making a holiday loaf

Ingredients:

2 cups of flour.
5g yeast.
25g melted butter.
3 tablespoons of milk.
2 chicken eggs.
2 tablespoons sugar.
0.5 teaspoons salt.
Cinnamon or vanilla if desired.

Preparation:

Dissolve one teaspoon of sugar in milk, and then the yeast. Beat the remaining sugar with the yolks and pour into the yeast mixture. Place 2 cups of flour in a large bowl and make a well. Beat the whites into a strong foam, pour the yeast mixture into the bowl with flour, add the whites and melted butter. Stir, place the dough on the table and knead, gradually adding flour so that the dough becomes smooth and does not stick to your hands.

The dough should be 500g. Cut 100g from it for decoration. Place the loaf on a baking sheet, shaped into a ball. Brush with water and decorate with ears, flowers, braids, etc., attaching them to the dough with water. As it dries, it is necessary to wet the decorations for 3 hours while the loaf is coming up.

Before putting in the oven, brush the loaf with whipped yolk and bake at 200º C on the bottom shelf until golden brown. After this, you need to cover the loaf with foil and continue baking for an hour at 180ºC. After the loaf is baked, you need to open the oven door and let it stand for 15 minutes. After cooking, cover the loaf with paper and wrap it in a regular towel overnight. Bon appetit!

The traditional wedding loaf has long been considered a symbol of fertility, great family happiness, and also means the transition from a carefree single life to a family life full of responsibilities. Previously, experienced married women who were happily married had to prepare a wedding loaf with their own hands. Widows, divorced or childless people were not allowed into this matter so that their fate could not influence the future life together of the newlyweds.

Wedding loaf recipe with photo

Saturday was considered a suitable day for baking a holiday loaf. On this day, the participants in the process brought everything they needed to the house, where the rituals accompanying the preparation were carried out. Nowadays, weddings are held both at the end of the week and in the middle, and the custom of baking a wedding loaf with your own hands has almost gone out of use, giving way to products ordered from a pastry shop. However, real housewives, relatives of future spouses, will probably be happy to give them a gift - a homemade loaf.

Necessary ingredients for baking a traditional wedding loaf:

Flour – 7-9 cups
Dry yeast – 20 grams
Vegetable or melted butter – 100 grams
Milk – half a glass (you can replace it with water or a water-milk mixture)
10 eggs
Salt – 2 teaspoons
Sugar – 6-8 spoons
Spices for flavor - cinnamon, grated lemon zest or vanilla sugar
Nuts, raisins or other toppings to taste

It should be remembered that according to the superstition, the larger the loaf, the happier the marriage of the young couple will be, therefore, if possible, loaf makers can increase the volume of ingredients in order to make the product larger with their own hands. In ancient times, a loaf could weigh so much that several people could hardly carry it.

Dough for a wedding loaf

You must cook a loaf in a good mood, with love. If you feel bad or irritated, stop doing this activity until your mood improves. A loaf made with your own hands gives birth to a new family. Recipe for making dough:

Pour the warmed glass of milk (or water) into a bowl - the milk should not be too hot, just warm.
Dissolve the yeast there.
Add a spoonful of sugar, mix gently and thoroughly.
Slowly sift a glass of flour through a sieve. The resulting dough consistency should resemble pancake dough.
Sprinkle the resulting dough with a small amount of flour on top, cover with a napkin or towel, and leave for an hour or an hour and a half. Remove when it rises as much as possible. If this is not done on time, unsightly cracks may appear.

Create a warm place using a container of heated water: after covering the dough, lower the bowl into a container of water so that it gives off heat. With this method, you will have to periodically change the liquid to maintain the desired temperature. You can prepare the dough for a handmade wedding loaf like this:

Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs, set aside one yolk to grease the product before baking.
Grind the remaining yolks with sugar, add the resulting mixture to the risen dough.
Set aside half a cup of flour and pour the rest into a large bowl or saucepan.
Beat the whites.
Melt butter or prepare vegetable oil.
Make a well in the flour, pour in the dough with yolks, butter, whites, add salt.
Knead the dough well, adding the reserved flour, until it stops sticking to your hands and becomes smooth - this task will take you up to half an hour.
When everything is ready, transfer the mixture into a bowl and leave the dough in a warm place for two hours. Then you need to knead it again and let it come up.

How to bake

Having prepared the mass (about 2 kilograms and a half) for baking, you need to start shaping the loaf. Here are the step-by-step instructions:

Separate 500-600 grams from the dough - this will be needed for future decorations.
Form the remaining mixture into a ball.
Cover a baking sheet with parchment, place a ball, and gently moisten it with water.
Come up with and make decorations for the loaf using 500-600 grams set aside earlier. While making your own decorations, preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Do not forget to constantly moisten the decorations and the future loaf so that they do not dry out.
The loaf will probably increase in size while the decorations are being prepared, this is normal. When the decorating process is completed, mix the yolk, set aside earlier, with a tablespoon of water, grease the surface of the dish well so that it is nice and rosy.
Place in a preheated oven.
Cover the dish with foil, reduce the temperature to 180 degrees when the surface becomes golden brown.
After this, the loaf will bake for an hour or a little longer.

Important note: when the loaf is inside the oven, you cannot open it to check readiness. If a large amount of heat is released, the product may sag.

When the wedding loaf is completely ready, you need to cool the dish for 15-20 minutes, opening the oven door slightly. Place the slightly cooled product on a prepared plate lined with napkins, grease the surface with butter or water, dissolving sugar in it. The top will also have to be covered with paper napkins and then with a towel. In this form, you need to leave the wedding loaf overnight so that it can “rest.”

Loaf decoration

Particular attention should be paid to decorating the wedding loaf, because all the decorative details of this dish carry a certain meaning. There are two ways to decorate a product with your own hands. The first is before putting it in the oven (described above). However, in this case there is a high probability that the decorative elements will become blurry. Another option is to attach the loaf decorations made from dough 10-15 minutes before you need to remove them from the oven. This guarantees clear parts shapes.

Details decorating a wedding loaf and their meanings:

Viburnum bunches are a must-have decoration for a wedding culinary dish. This is a symbol of love and abundance. To make the decoration, roll thick balls, cut in half, attach the hemispheres to the surface, forming viburnum branches.

Pigtail. Traditionally, they try to decorate all loaves with this element, placing the braid along the very edge of the spherical product. She symbolizes the sun. To make a braid with your own hands, you need to make 3 long ropes from the dough (like 2.5 circles of the wedding loaf itself), connect one edge, then braid it around, secure with a skewer.

Spikelets of wheat are a symbol of fertility. To prepare spikelets with your own hands, you need to form a test rope, one end of which will be narrow, the other wide. Then you need to attach the rope to the wedding loaf, “pinch” the thick edge on all sides with scissors, forming the grains of the ears.

Roses. Denoting love, roses will be a wonderful decoration for a wedding loaf. To make, roll out three to four thin circles. Roll the first one into a roll, wrap the next one around, slightly bending the edges. The third one does the same, bending the edges more. The end result will be a beautiful lush decoration.

Leaves symbolize youth and abundance. To create this loaf wedding decor detail, cut out a diamond shape from the dough mixture and score the edges. Make veins with a knife by cutting out small pieces of dough.

Recess for salt. As a rule, while baking a dish, they make a hole in the very center of the loaf, decorating it with braids, leaves, and ears of corn. Then they will put salt there. When the loaf is brought out to the newlyweds, they will have to break off a piece, then dip it in salt and eat it - this ritual symbolizes a pound of salt eaten together, and foreshadows a further sweet life.

There have long been many traditions in Rus'. One of these traditions is baking a loaf of bread before the wedding. It was baked 1 day before the celebration.

How to bake a loaf - ingredients

For the loaf you will need:

800 g of premium flour;
350 ml milk;
5 eggs;
5 tbsp. spoons of sugar;
250 g vegetable or butter;
50 g fresh yeast or 10 g dry;
1.5 tsp. spoons of salt.

How to bake a loaf - dough

Preparing dough is one of the important processes for obtaining a beautiful and tasty loaf.

Heat half the milk until warm.
Dissolve and stir yeast in it, 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar, 2 tbsp. spoons of flour.
It should be a liquid dough. Let it rise in a warm place until it doubles in size and a lot of bubbles appear, 40-60 minutes.

How to bake a loaf - dough

Heat the remaining milk, mix with melted butter, you can take vegetable oil, then you won’t have to melt it, sugar and salt. The liquid should be warm, not hot, otherwise the yeast will die.
Prepare a large bowl, pour in the appropriate dough, liquid ingredients, beaten eggs at room temperature, leave 1 yolk for brushing the top of the loaf.
Gradually add flour and knead the dough with your hands for about 20 minutes until it becomes homogeneous and lags behind your hands.
Cover the dough with a towel and place in a warm place until it doubles in size, 1.5-2.0 hours.
Separate a small piece (about 500 g) from the dough for decoration, and moisten it with water so that it does not dry out.

How to bake a loaf - baking

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, roll the dough into a ball and place on paper.
Carefully and quickly roll up decorations from the remaining dough.
If the housewife is experienced and already knows what nuances there may be when baking, then decorations can be attached to the raw loaf.
We do this: we wrap a ball of dough on paper around a braid woven from dough, pre-wet the braid with water so that it sticks to the dough better. You can also attach the braid to the loaf with a skewer.
Lubricate the loaf with yolk mixed with 1 tbsp. spoon of water, and decorate with dough figures. There is no need to grease the figures with yolk so that they remain lighter than the loaf itself.
We turn on the oven in advance at 200°C to heat up, place the loaf for 20 minutes, the oven door must not be opened, otherwise the loaf may settle.
Then turn the oven up to 170°C and bake for another 40 minutes; if the allotted time has not passed and the loaf starts to burn, cover it with foil.
Turn off the oven and leave the loaf in it to gradually cool for about 20 minutes.
Remove from the mold onto a tray lined with a napkin, grease the top with butter or sweet syrup, cover with a towel and leave for 5-6 hours.
And if the housewife is baking a loaf for the first time and is not confident in her abilities, then it is better to grease the suitable loaf with yolk and bake, and 15-20 minutes before the end of baking, place the decorations soaked in water on the loaf and finish baking.

How to bake a loaf - decoration

In Rus', loaves for newlyweds were decorated with dough figures that symbolized love and wealth.

Here are the most basic of them:

We braid the braid from 3 thin sticks rolled by hand. It symbolizes the sun and bright feelings for each other.
A viburnum branch is love and prosperity in the house; we lay it out from balls of dough, cut in half, and thin sprigs of dough.
Ears of wheat are fertility. Roll up a strip of dough, thinner on one side and thicker on the other. We cut the thick side with scissors in the form of spikelets.
Roses are love. Roll out 3-4 small circles, roll one circle, and roll the others one by one around it, unbending the edges.
Leaves are a symbol of abundance. We roll out a layer of dough, cut out rhombuses, cut them off along the edges, you can cut more edges and the leaves will have teeth.
For a convenient location of the salt shaker on the loaf, we make a recess for it like this: we braid a thin braid from the dough, connect the edges - we get a circle, moisten the bottom of the circle in water and glue it to the loaf.

So, we learned how to bake a wedding loaf.

In the oven Bake the loaf at a temperature of 200 degrees, then at a temperature of 170 degrees.

Loaf in the oven

Ingredients for making loaf dough
Chicken egg - 4 pieces
Milk - 300 milliliters
Butter - 200 grams
Wheat flour - 750 grams
Sugar - 5 tablespoons
Dry yeast - 10 grams (1 heaped tablespoon)
Salt - 1 teaspoon

Products for decorating a loaf
Chicken egg - 3 pieces
Wheat flour - 250 grams

Food preparation
1. Sift 750 grams of flour through a sieve - this will give it a uniform density and eliminate lumps and possible debris.
2. Pour 150 milliliters of milk into a container, put on low heat and heat to a temperature of 38 degrees (so that the liquid becomes body temperature - slightly warm).
3. Mix the dough: add 2 tablespoons of sugar to the milk, 1 tablespoon of yeast and mix. Add 4 tablespoons of sifted flour and mix thoroughly.
4. Set the resulting creamy mass – dough – aside for 45 minutes to swell.
5. Divide the remaining milk: leave 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) for greasing the loaf, and use the rest – 135 milliliters – for preparing the dough.
6. Pour 135 milliliters of milk into a bowl, add 200 grams of butter and put on low heat until the butter begins to melt. Then add 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt to the container, mix everything and cool.
7. To prepare the dough, you need to mix 250 grams of flour and whites from 3 eggs in a bowl. To do this, you need to break the egg with a knife, but not too hard, so as not to damage the yolk and cause a crack to form on the shell. The shell needs to be broken into two parts over a plate - part of the protein will spill into it. Then begin to transfer the remaining part of the egg from one part of the shell to another until the white completely flows into the plate. Then combine the protein with flour, mix thoroughly to form a lump of dough with a smooth surface.
8. Since the dough for decorating the loaf will dry out quickly, you need to cover it with food-grade polyethylene.
9. After 45 minutes, when the finished dough swells and foams, beat 4 eggs in a separate container, but not too much, so that the structure of the product collapses and a homogeneous mass is obtained.
10. Transfer the dough into a large container, add beaten eggs, 2 cups of flour and mix well.
11. Knead the dough with your hands for 20 minutes, constantly adding flour. During this time, it will begin to transform from a sticky, liquidy mass into an elastic lump that separates from the walls of the container.
12. When the dough is well kneaded, you need to cover the container with a natural cloth so that the dough does not dry out, and leave it for 1.5 hours. During this time it will grow approximately 2 times.
13. While the dough is rising, you should prepare the decoration for the loaf. From the previously prepared mass, make a beautiful decor in the form of roses, spikelets, and flowers. At the same time, they need to be covered with film so that they do not dry out.

14. Mix 1 remaining yolk and 1 tablespoon of milk in a bowl - this mixture will be used to grease the loaf when baking.

How to cook a loaf in the oven
1. Prepare the pan: line a baking sheet or other baking containers with parchment. They need to cover not only the bottom of the mold, but also the walls so that the loaf does not lose its shape during cooking.
2. Knead the risen yeast dough, give the dough a round shape, place it on a baking sheet or baking container and leave for 20 minutes until it rises.
3. Turn on the oven at 200 degrees and warm up for 5 minutes.
4. Coat the loaf on a baking sheet or in a mold with a mixture of milk and eggs. All sides should be coated evenly and completely.
5. Place the previously prepared decorations on the loaf; there is no need to grease them. To keep them on the product during baking, you need to secure them with toothpicks.
6. Place the dough in a hot oven. Bake at 200 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 170 degrees and continue baking for another 40 minutes.
7. To prevent the loaf from burning, you need to cover the browned crust with foil.
8. Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool before removing it from the pan or removing it from the baking sheet.

Fkusnofacts

Loaf - one of the main dishes at the wedding. It is a round-shaped bread that is served to all participants and guests of the celebration. This tradition comes from ancient times, even before the adoption of Christianity in Rus'. Even then, special bread was baked for weddings. The name loaf itself comes from the word “cow”, which in the ancient dialect also meant “bride”. It should be noted that the “loaf” is known only to the Slavs and the tradition of serving wedding bread is widespread in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and eastern Poland.

Loaf count symbol happiness, prosperity in the family. As a rule, the bread is richly and exquisitely decorated. Most often it is decorated with ears of wheat made from dough - they symbolize prosperity in the family. They believe that viburnum branches will bring happiness and children, and pairs of swans or two rings will bring fidelity in marriage.

- Accepted During the wedding, carry out the loaf on a towel. The richer the bread is decorated, the happier the young family will be. The loaf used to be divided in this way: the top was given to the young people, the middle to all the guests, and the bottom to the musicians. Thus, the bride and groom shared their happiness with all the guests.

When preparing a loaf, you need to use parchment. In this case, not only the bottom of the baking sheet or mold should be covered with special paper, but also the sides. Parchment will solve the problem of burning and retain the shape of the loaf without losing its relief.

- Loaf decoration- a responsible procedure, and it is very important that all elements are tightly attached to the surface. There are two ways to secure jewelry. Simple elements can be placed on the base of the loaf, having previously greased it with egg white or plain water. As for volumetric decorations in the form of roses, they are fixed with wooden skewers or toothpicks. You need to decorate the loaf immediately before putting it in the oven.

- During cooking bread, you need to watch how quickly it browns. If it starts to bake too much, you need to use foil and cover the surface with it. It will eliminate the problem of the top of the product burning and drying out.

One of the popular decorations of the loaf is pigtail. To prepare it, you need:
1. Make three flagella of the same length from the dough, and the length should be 2 times greater than the diameter of the loaf itself.
2. Fasten the flagella on one side, and then begin to weave the braid: the right tourniquet is placed on the middle one, then the left one is placed. Do it all again.
3. Bend the ends of the braids and fix them on the loaf.

To prepare such decoration as ears of corn, need to:
1. Divide the dough into two parts. The stems will be made from one, and the ears themselves will be made from the second.
2. When making the stems, you need to tear off a small piece of dough and roll it out until a string is formed, with a diameter of 5 millimeters. The length of such strips should be 20 centimeters.
3. Cover the finished stems with film to prevent them from drying out, and begin making ears.
4. Tear off the dough and roll it into a roll with one end pointed. The length should be 10 centimeters and the thickness should be 1 centimeter.
5. Cut the roll lengthwise, but not all the way. Make several cuts with scissors to form spines.
6. Place the stems on the prepared loaf and place the ears on top.

Decoration of a loaf in the form roses also looks impressive. To prepare you need:
1. Cut 4 thin circles from the dough.
2. Place the circles one on top of the other and twist them into a tube, pressing them in the middle.
3. Cut the resulting roll in half - you get 2 roses. Spread the petals for them.
4. The rose needs to be secured to the loaf with a toothpick or skewer.

Description

Loaf for a wedding baked in all Orthodox families. This ritual bread is a symbol of wealth, strength and well-being of a young family. There are many beliefs and customs associated with it. According to ancient beliefs, this wedding bread had to be kneaded by the eldest woman in the young husband’s family, and the right to present the loaf, bless with the icon and say other parting words when the young spouses met was given to the established mother-in-law. Many conventions associated with the loaf are still relevant today.

Loaves, like the round “cone” booths for them, are always decorated with braids, figurines of birds and animals, leaves and bunches of grapes, spikelets and roses. Each of these signs was identified with the benefits that were prophesied for the young family. When kneading the dough, ritual songs were sung and other rituals were performed. The finished bread was served not on a bare tray, but on a towel, which, according to legend, the bride had to embroider and decorate at her discretion.

They eat the loaf with their hands, dipping the pieces in honey or salt. Cutting ritual baked goods was strictly forbidden: the product was divided into parts only by breaking off the bread with hands.

At the moment, the loaf has not lost its relevance, but many rituals have faded into the background. Both the bread itself and the towel (this is how a ritual towel is called in the Ukrainian or Belarusian manner) can be bought in a store or ordered from folk craftsmen.

But in fact, baking a delicious loaf is simple. For all those who have decided to try their skills and abilities in cooking, we offer to implement the recipe with step-by-step recommendations and photographs. According to the suggested recommendations, you can prepare a loaf for meeting guests, for a silver, golden wedding or for matchmaking.

Ingredients

(8 items)
(20 g)
(1/2 tbsp.)
(1/2 tbsp.)
(10 pieces.)
(3/4 tbsp.)
(taste)
(taste)
(1/2 tsp)

Cooking steps

When preparing a loaf for a wedding, start by preparing all the necessary ingredients. All products are shown in the photo. The candied fruits and cinnamon indicated in the recipe are used as desired.

Dissolve the yeast in warm milk and stir until completely dissolved. Leave the workpiece warm and in the meantime start preparing the eggs. Wash the product in warm water and separate the whites and yolks. Beat the latter into a stable foam with granulated sugar. After this, pour milk and yeast into the sweet mass. Stir the ingredients well until the sugar is completely dissolved. Beat the whites separately.

Pour six cups of sifted flour into a deep bowl (preferably a ceramic one that can retain heat). Make a depression in the middle of the slide, as shown in the photo.

Pour the egg-milk mixture, whipped whites and butter into the flour, then knead into a soft dough. It should not stick to your hands or stretch behind your palms. At this step, add candied fruits and cinnamon.

Sprinkle some flour on the table and place the dough on it. Knead the workpiece until smooth. This may take about half an hour.

Place the finished dough in a bowl greased with vegetable oil, cover with a napkin, then wrap well. It will take at least an hour and a half for the dough to rise.

Punch down the resulting dough, then divide the dough into three parts. Roll the first one into a “bun”. This will be the base of the loaf. Use the second part to make an improvised “wreath”, and the third – to make decorations and figurines of ritual bread.

Place the loaf on a baking sheet or in a deep pan. After this, braid the workpiece. Be sure to place a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom of the baking sheet (as in the photo). Decorate the surface of the loaf with a mesh of dough, on which place twisted leaves and flowers. Leave a space in the middle for the salt shaker. Leave the dough for half an hour to proof the dough, then brush the “grown” loaf with beaten yolk and place it in an oven preheated to 180 degrees Celsius.

Bake the ritual bread for forty minutes (sometimes even an hour!), after which take the finished loaf out onto the table and cover with a dry towel. You can check the quality of the baked goods with a wooden kebabs skewer. They pierce the loaf with it in an inconspicuous place and if it is taken out dry (without traces of dough), then the baked goods are considered ready. Serve the sweet bread after it has cooled completely, or even better, the next day after cooking.

Bon appetit!