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Alexandrian Kulich
The Alexandrian kulich is prepared with sour milk and turns out to be porous and very aromatic. Since the fermentation process of the dough takes some time, it is better to prepare it in the evening. The kulich itself is made quickly, in just 30 minutes. To give the crumb a yellowish tint, you can add turmeric. We only need the zest from the lemon and orange.
Preparation time: 15 hours (11 hours for preparing the dough, 3.5 hours for proving the dough, and 30 minutes for baking the kulich).
Caloric content: 372 kcal. per 100 grams of the dish.
Ingredients
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For the dough:
- sour milk – 500 ml;
- eggs – 6 pieces + 2 yolks (room temperature);
- sugar – 500 grams;
- dry yeast – 17 grams (or fresh compressed – 50 g.);
- butter (room temperature) – 250 grams.
For the dough:
- flour – 1.2 kg;
- raisins – 160 grams;
- candied fruits – 160 grams;
- turmeric (optional) – 1/2 teaspoon;
- lemon – 1 piece;
- orange – 1 piece;
- brandy – 2 tablespoons;
- salt – 1/2 teaspoon;
- vanillin – 2 grams;
- vegetable oil (for greasing hands).
Preparation
- Prepare the ingredients for the dough. It is best to prepare it in the evening, so that the dough ferments well overnight and the next day continue making the kulich. The eggs and butter should be at room temperature.
- To 500 grams of sour milk, add 17 grams of dry yeast and mix everything well.
- In a deep bowl, crack 6 eggs and add the 2 yolks; you can use the remaining whites for making French meringue or another dish.
- To mix the whites and yolks, lightly beat the eggs. It is easiest to do this with a whisk.
- To the egg mixture, add the sour milk with yeast, room temperature butter, and 500 grams of sugar. Mix all the ingredients well. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature for 10-12 hours.
- Once the dough has fermented, prepare the ingredients for the Alexandrian dough. Rinse the fruits and raisins thoroughly under running water.
- Pour boiling water over the raisins and let them cool down.
- In a convenient dish, grate the zest of the lemon and orange.
- This is how the dough has fermented.
- Mix it.
- Proceed to prepare the Alexandrian dough. Add the zest of the orange and lemon to the dough, half a teaspoon of turmeric (optional), 2 tablespoons of brandy, 2 grams of vanillin, and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix everything.
- Gradually sift about half of the total amount of flour into the dough in small portions. Mix each portion well.
- Once half of the total amount of flour has been sifted, drain the cooled water from the raisins and dry them. Add a tablespoon of flour to the raisins and mix.
- Add the raisins and candied fruits to the dough. Mix everything.
- Gradually sift the remaining flour into the dough and continue mixing. As soon as it becomes difficult to knead the dough with a spoon, start kneading it by hand for another 10 minutes. The dough becomes quite sticky and sticks to your hands.
- Since the dough will rise about 2 times, it is better to transfer it to an appropriately sized container. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in a warm place. Leave it there until it increases by about 2 times. It took me about 1.5 - 2 hours for this.
- After some time, the dough will have risen quite a bit.
- Remove the plastic wrap. Grease your hands with vegetable oil and knead the dough for a few minutes.
- Grease your hands with vegetable oil again and distribute the Alexandrian dough into the molds for kulich, which should be filled to 1/3 of their size. In our case, there were 4 molds with a diameter of 13 centimeters and 1 mold with a diameter of 11 centimeters. Place the molds in a warm place and cover them with a towel. Leave them for about 1.5 hours.
- This is how our dough has risen.
- We transfer the molds to the baking sheet and place it in the preheated oven at 170-180 degrees for 30 minutes. We check the readiness with a wooden skewer. After piercing the kulich – it should remain dry.
- We take the Alexandrian kulich out of the oven and leave it to cool completely.
- After the kulich has cooled, we cover it with the prepared gelatin glaze. Since the glaze hardens quickly, it should be sprinkled with confectionery sprinkles immediately.
- The Alexandrian kulich made with sour milk is ready. This incredibly fragrant pastry will be a wonderful decoration for the Easter table.
Happy Easter!
