The day after tomorrow is Easter and I’m back with a new recipe. Appetizing, rosy, fragrant and very tasty Easter wreaths with multi-colored candied fruits are a delicious holiday pastry. Just look how elegant they are: you can not only treat your family with braids, but also give them to friends and family!

I have described today’s step-by-step Easter baking recipe in more detail, so most likely there will be no additional questions when preparing the wreaths. I will touch upon only one point, which concerns the filler and flavorings. Instead of candied fruits, you can use the same amount of raisins, dried apricots, prunes, dried cherries, cranberries, nuts of your choice. Orange or lemon zest, spices, or industrial or homemade liquid flavorings will help you make the dough even more aromatic.

In total, from the specified amount of ingredients used, 12 fairly large butter wreaths are obtained. If you want, you can reduce the proportions by half - then there will be 6 products. The finished baked goods will delight you with a crispy crust and a dense, elastic (like fresh lamb), but at the same time tender crumb. We store Easter wreaths in an airtight container or plastic bag.

Ingredients:

Yeast dough:

(520 grams) (150 milliliters) (100 grams) (80 grams) (2 pieces ) (7 grams) (0.5 teaspoon) (1 pinch)

Filling and lubrication:

Cooking the dish step by step with photos:

Sift (preferably twice) premium wheat flour into a bowl (I put the whole amount at once). Due to this, the flour will not only loosen and be saturated with oxygen, but also possible debris will be removed. You may need a little less or more flour - it depends on its quality (in particular moisture content). That is why I would advise you not to use all the flour at once, but to start with 450-480 grams - then you will be guided by the consistency of the dough.

Mix everything thoroughly with a fork or whisk. About yeast: it is not necessary to take exactly fast-acting yeast - just dry (also 7 grams) or pressed yeast (you need 3 times more, that is, 21 grams) will work perfectly. Such yeast is not immediately mixed with flour, but is pre-activated in a warm, sweetish liquid for 10-15 minutes. In our case, you can slightly heat 150 milliliters of milk with a tablespoon of sugar and dissolve the yeast in it. Make a well in the flour and pour lukewarm milk into it, break 2 chicken eggs.

First, you can stir the ingredients with a spoon or fork to moisten the flour by absorbing the liquid. If you want, you can immediately knead the dough with your hands. If you have a dough mixer or bread machine, be sure to use their help - it’s easier and faster. Add 100 grams of very soft butter to the flour lumps, which we take out of the refrigerator a few hours before and leave to warm up on the table. You do not need to add the oil all at once, but gradually - each new portion, when the previous one is mixed into the dough.

You need to knead the dough for Easter wreaths for quite a long time (at least 10, preferably 15 minutes) and intensively. As a result, it will become smooth, uniform, quite dense and elastic. This is exactly the consistency we need, since the soft and too tender dough will make wreaths, but they will not be embossed. Form the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl. We put it in a warm place for 1 hour, after which we do a light kneading, re-rounding and again in a warm place for another 1 hour (steps 9-11). Where is the best place for the dough to ferment and what does a warm place mean? There are several options. First of all, in the oven with the light on (it turns out to be approximately 28-30 degrees - the ideal temperature for fermenting yeast dough). Then cover the bowl with the dough with cling film or cover it with a towel made of natural fabric (linen is best) so that the surface does not become airy and crusty. You can also let the dough ferment in the microwave, in which you first bring a glass of water to a boil. The dough will rise when the door is closed, and the glass will stand there. Then there is no need to cover the bowl with anything, since the water will evaporate, thereby maintaining the necessary humidity. Just make sure that no one accidentally turns on the microwave, otherwise the dough will be lost and there will be no Easter wreaths.

While the dough is fermenting, you can go about your business and prepare our bright, tasty, sweet filling. Cut multi-colored candied fruits (I used pineapple) into cubes as small as possible.

Since I decided to make 12 Easter wreaths, I immediately weighed the chopped candied fruits on a kitchen scale and laid them out in piles - this saves time, and accuracy never hurts. In total there were 12 slides of candied fruits, each 20 grams.

After about 1 hour (time is a relative concept, you may need more or less), the yeast dough for Easter baking will rise very well, increasing in volume exactly three times. It is very airy and fluffy. If the dough rises poorly, it means you have old yeast - increase the fermentation time.

We knead it and divide it into 2 equal parts - each approximately 478 grams. We round each piece and roll it into a ball. Next we will work with one part of the dough, so we transfer the second bun into a new plastic bag, release the air and tie it tightly, leaving some space inside. We put the dough in the refrigerator - there it will wait in the wings while we work on the second piece.

We divide the bun that remains on the table into 6 parts of the same size - each weighs 80 grams (+/-1-2 grams). Why is it so important that the workpieces are the same in weight? First of all, they will need the same amount of time for both proofing and baking. Well, the aesthetic side is also important - the finished Easter wreaths will all be as if they were chosen.

An important step when preparing yeast baked goods is rounding the dough. Since the dough for this recipe does not stick to your hands at all, there is no need to additionally dust the work surface with wheat flour. Take one piece of dough and beat it into a flat cake with your palm several times to remove excess air. If you have little experience in working with yeast dough and forming the pieces takes a lot of time, cover the remaining pieces of dough with cling film to prevent them from becoming airy and crusty.

Turn the ball of dough over, seam side down, and round the future buns. It’s quite difficult for me to show the process without a video, but I’ll try to describe it. We squeeze our working palm, spreading our fingers, as if holding a large orange. Cover the workpiece with your palm in this position and begin to rotate the dough ball counterclockwise. Everything happens easily and effortlessly, while we kind of bend the dough inward a little with 4 fingers, but without pressing.

In this way we will roll up all 6 blanks for future Easter wreaths. They turn out neat and smooth.

Since we tortured the dough, it needs to be given time to recover and relax - cover the buns with cling film and leave them directly on the table for 10-15 minutes. If you don’t give the pieces a rest, the dough will resist when rolling: you roll it out with a rolling pin, but it slides back.

When the cones have rested and even swollen slightly, we move on to the next stage. Using a rolling pin, roll out one ball of yeast dough into a square as thin as possible - ideally no more than 2 millimeters thick.

Recipe for making an Easter wreath and bunnies from yeast dough. In order to decorate the Easter table, you can prepare an interesting pastry - an airy wreath with a triple filling of dried fruits (in our case, dried apricots, dates and raisins), as well as Easter bunnies. The younger members of the family are always satisfied with such baked goods. Moreover, the filling for the wreath can be varied - nuts, dried fruits, candied fruits or dried berries. The dough is prepared with yeast based on milk, eggs and butter. You can decorate baked goods in different ways, but the simplest is to sprinkle them with decorative decorations for Easter cakes.

Compound:

200 ml. warm milk (1 glass);

60 – 70 g butter;

4 tbsp. spoons of sugar;

1 teaspoon salt;

1 teaspoon dry yeast;

3 eggs (2 for the dough + 1 for greasing);

550 – 600 g flour;

80 g dried apricots;

80 g raisins;

80 g dates (pitted);

2 tbsp. spoons of sugar water (for greasing);

Decorative decoration for Easter cakes.

How to cook:

Heat the milk a little in the microwave in advance and melt the butter. Knead the dough in a large bowl. Mix together: warm milk, melted butter, sugar, salt, eggs and yeast. Leave the dough in a warm place until the yeast becomes active and a characteristic foam appears on the surface.

Then start adding flour into the dough in small portions. Do not add all the flour at once, as during kneading your dough may take a little more or less flour. The finished dough should not be oversaturated with flour, it should be elastic and easily stick to your hands.

Cover the dough with cling film or a damp towel and leave to rise in a warm place for one hour. I traditionally leave the dough in a slightly warm oven.

While the dough is rising, prepare the dried fruit for the filling. I have dried apricots, raisins and dates on hand - you can take what you have (dried fruits, nuts, candied fruits). Rinse dried fruits in warm water and dry with paper towels. Chop the dried apricots into small pieces with a knife. Just leave the raisins whole, and separate the dates from the stone and chop them finely.

Place the risen dough on a floured surface and knead lightly. Divide into two unequal parts.

Cover the smaller one with cellophane and set aside. Divide the larger part into three more equal parts - these will be the rolls for the wreath. Take one ball and roll it into a long sausage (about 50 cm). Using a rolling pin, roll out into a wide strip (about 7 - 10 cm). Place the filling, such as dried apricots, in the center.

Then roll it up and pinch the seam tightly.

In this way, collect all three rolls. You should end up with three long rolls with different fillings.

Weave these rolls into a tight braid and pinch the edges tightly with your hands. Curl the braid into a wreath, leaving some space in the middle.

Prepare a convenient baking dish and grease it with butter (butter, vegetable). You can prepare a regular baking sheet lined with parchment for baking. Carefully transfer the wreath into the mold, cover with cellophane and put in a warm place for another 20 - 30 minutes to proof.

Meanwhile, work on the reserved portion of the dough.

You can use it to form small Easter bunnies (cranes). To prepare such buns you need to collect very dense balls of dough, without air bubbles. You can assemble the balls in different ways, whatever is more convenient for you, the main thing is that as a result you get round and very dense dough pieces.

Place the prepared balls on a small baking sheet lined with parchment. Cover the dough with cellophane and place in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees in advance.

Meanwhile, the wreath has already steeped and needs to be greased with beaten egg.

Place the wreath in the preheated oven for 20 minutes and bake until golden brown.

While the Easter wreath is baking, prepare the bunnies for baking. Using scissors, cut out the ears and tighten them a little, and use a stick to squeeze out the eyes on the muzzle. Using your fingers, press down on the sides of the ball to visually separate the head from the body. Brush the bunnies with the remaining beaten egg. The buns are baked in the same way, at 180 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes.

Grease the finished hot pastries with a sugar solution and decorate with a decorative decoration for Easter cakes. Easter wreath and bunnies are ready!

On the Easter table during the holidays, you can put not only Easter cottage cheese for your guests. For example, bake a fragrant and beautiful Easter wreath; the recipe with photos is presented in this issue. Baked goods will look impressive with egg white glaze and sprinkles. You can place colored Easter eggs in the center of the baked dough ring.

recipe with photo from rich yeast bread made with yeast and yolks with honey

A ring of yeast dough can be made from a braid or a roll into which the filling can be placed. As a filling you can use steamed poppy seeds, raisins, nuts, chocolate, dried apricots or prunes.

The baked goods according to the recipe will have a bright and crispy crust on the outside, and the inside will have an aromatic and tasty, slightly moist consistency similar to a bun. This wreath is very tasty warm, so I don’t recommend preparing it in advance.

Ingredients:

• fresh yeast - 22 g,
• honey 10-15 g,
• milk - 175 ml,
• chicken yolks - 2 pcs.,
• orange juice (freshly squeezed) - 30 ml,
• lemon zest to taste,
• salt,
• sugar - 5 tbsp. l.,
• butter 60 +30 g,
• sour cream - 2 tbsp. l.
• flour 340-400 g,
• raisins 50-70 g,
• hazelnuts to taste.

Cooking process:

The key to successful baked goods is always good and fresh yeast. For Easter cakes and Easter pies I use compressed yeast, it always produces excellent results.

Be sure to remove the ingredients for the Easter wreath from the refrigerator in advance so that they come to room temperature.

Throw the crumbled yeast into a bowl of warm milk, add three tablespoons of flour and add honey or sugar (1.5 tbsp). To increase the volume, leave the stirred dough covered for 20 minutes, the yeast is activated during this time.

Whisk the chicken yolks with sugar and a pinch of salt.

Then add sour cream and freshly squeezed orange juice to the yolk mixture.

Add the suitable dough into the egg mixture.

Add sifted flour in small portions and knead the dough with a silicone spatula.

When kneading an Easter wreath, you may need a little more flour than in the recipe, the main thing is not to beat the dough too much. At the end, your dough should remain soft and not very sticky to your hands. Knead the dough for 7-10 minutes, then grease the sides of the bowl with vegetable oil and cover it.

Leave the dough for the Easter wreath in a warm place for one hour. Punch down the dough that has risen well enough and add melted butter. Knead again, add a handful of raisins to it. Pre-soak the raisins in water or aromatic alcohol, then squeeze and blot with a napkin. Let the dough rise again, cover it with a towel, and put it in a warm place for 45 minutes.

Now you will need a little flour (70-100 g) to roll out a rectangular piece of dough on the table. Brush a thin layer of yeast with melted butter and roll it into a roll. If you want to make this wreath with additional filling, add it before rolling onto the dough.

Roll the roll into a wreath, connecting its ends, and transfer to parchment.

Using scissors, make slits almost to the base of the wreath. Turn each piece of cut dough into a horizontal position, as if opening the petals of a flower.

Place the yeast flower wreath in the turned off oven for 30 minutes to proof. It has increased slightly in volume. Lightly beat the egg with a fork and brush gently on top, sprinkle with lightly crushed hazelnuts.

In a hot oven (temperature 180 degrees), the Easter wreath will spend 40-45 minutes until fully cooked. Easter baking turns out to be a beautiful golden color, smells delicious of hazelnuts, and when you bite into it, the cake has an appetizing crunch. Place the roll on a wire rack to cool.

The Easter wreath can be coated with sugar-white glaze, or just use powdered sugar.

I have long dreamed of baking a delicious table decoration for this holiday. So that this pastry on the table is special and unusual. But when that day comes, there are not enough hands. There is a lot to do, a lot of worries and obligations. This year it will be different - there will be an Easter wreath on the table. This is a wonderful, tender, airy and aromatic pastry with an amazing taste. You want to eat it, and not just with your eyes. I can already imagine how my guests break off a piece for themselves and fully enjoy this taste.

In order for everything to work out as it should, you need to prepare all the ingredients in advance so that they are at room temperature, and also (and this is the most important thing!) you need to be in a good mood.

Prepare the necessary ingredients for baking an Easter wreath.

Rinse the raisins with running water, pour in cognac and leave for 1 hour.

Pour room temperature kefir into a deep bowl, add dry yeast and a pinch of sugar.

Then add 2-3 tbsp. sifted flour, mix, cover with a towel and leave for 15-20 minutes in a warm place.

At this time, when the dough is being prepared, beat the chicken egg with a pinch of salt. Pour in the melted butter and stir a little.

Pour this mixture into the prepared dough.

Add vanillin and sugar.

Then add the sifted flour in parts.

The finished dough should be tender and manageable, it should not stick to your hands.

Squeeze the raisins from the liquid and add to the dough.

Mix it thoroughly into the dough. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with a napkin and leave in a warm place until doubled in size. This may take from 40 to 60 minutes.

Knead the risen dough thoroughly.

Roll the dough with a roller and divide into three equal parts.

Roll each into a thin rope.

Weave them together into a braid.

Connect the ends together to form a wreath and place in a ceramic mold. Pre-lubricate it with vegetable oil.

Cover with a napkin and leave in a warm place for 15-20 minutes. Then, if desired, brush the top of the workpiece with the cracked egg. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes at 180 degrees.

Remove the rosy, beautiful and fragrant Easter wreath from the oven and, if desired, brush with sugar syrup, then sprinkle with confectionery topping.

Happy Easter.

Bon appetit. Cook with love.