Rumanian Easter Bread

Submitted by Irmgard

"I came across this recipe in a bread machine book and tried it because it is similar in composition to the poppy seed loaf that my mom used to make. It was a big hit so now I make it every year at Easter."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 30mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Yields: 2 loaves
• Serves: 20

ingredients

• Bread

• 1⁄2 cup milk
• 1⁄4 cup water
• 1 egg
• 1⁄4 cup butter or 1/4 cup margarine
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1⁄3 cup granulated sugar
• 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast or 1 teaspoon bread machine yeast

• Filling

• 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 cup water
• 2 cups ground pecans
• 1 cup golden raisin
• 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon, rind of
• 3⁄4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk

directions

1. Add the first 8 ingredients to your bread machine according to manufacturer's directions. Select dough cycle.
2. When the cycle is complete, remove the dough from the machine. Punch down. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, for the filling, in a medium saucepan combine 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil. Boil gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat; stir in the pecans, raisins, lemon peel and cinnamon. Cool to room temperature. Divide the dough in half. On a floured surface, roll each half into a 10" x 8" rectangle. Spread each with half of the filling. Starting from a short side, roll into a spiral; seal edge and ends. Place, seam down, on a large, greased baking sheet.
5. Cover, let rise in a warm place 30 minutes or until nearly double in size. Combine the beaten egg and 1 tablespoon milk; brush over the loaves. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped. If necessary, cover with foil the last 10 minutes to prevent overbrowning. Remove from baking sheets; cool.

Reviews

[mianbao]

This is very good. And it was amazingly simple to make in the bread machine. I will admit to being a little worried about using only one teaspoon of yeast, but followed the recipe, and it was exactly right. The filling is nice, but I think I'll leave out the cinnamon and maybe soak the raisins in rum next time. I'm sure I will make this many times. Thank you very much for such a versatile recipe.