Maybe you’ve always wanted to surprise your family with a home-made, sweet braided loaf (in Hungarian: fonott kalács), now it’s time to bake it! We wish you get inspired by the following recipe.
Ingredients:
500 g flour
20 g fresh yeast
1 bigger egg
1 tsp cold water
2 dl milk
80 g sugar
1.5 tsp salt
70-80 g soft butter
Step 1.
Chill the milk, pour 1 dl in a bowl and add a coffee spoon of sugar. Stir it until the sugar melts, then crumble the soft and moist yeast into it. Leave it to rest until it activates.
Step 2.
Sift the flour into a bigger bowl and add the rest of the sugar and the salt. Gently whip the eggs for a short time, and set aside around 1/3 of it. Cut the butter in small pieces.
Step 3.
When the yeast is ready, use your mixer to knead everything together. (You can also do it with your hands.) First, add the mixture of flour, sugar and salt to the actived yeast by constant stirring, then the rest of the milk. After 4-5 minutes of kneading you should add the small butter pieces and keep kneading for another 10 minutes, at least. (The dough is perfect when it isn’t sticky.) Cover it, then place the container in a warm place for 1 hour.
Step 4.
Wait until the dough rise. Put a little flour on the bake board and knead the dough again to get rid of the air bubbles. Cover it for another 10-15 minutes.
Step 5.
When the size of the dough is visibly bigger, cut it into 3 pieces. Then press each, roll them into 34-40 cm long ropes, braid them together gently and pinch the ends. Leave it to rest for 45 minutes.
Step 6.
Now make the egg wash by using the 1/3 of the whipped egg + 1 tsp water, and brush the loaf with it. Bake the dough for 25-30 minutes at 175 °C degree (don’t preheat), and voilá, it’s ready!
