Resurrection

If you’ve been my follower for a while, then you know that I have all kinds of posts: some are funny, some are inspirational, some other ones are literary, and a few whiny ones are in between (have done them more often lately than ever before). My lengthy posts are generally recipe ones, as it does take time to develop, make, shoot, and post a recipe. Today’s post is one of them and is strictly dedicated to that, a delicious recipe.

Mid-spring is generally all about Easter and all the sugary treats that come with it. Western Easter falls on April 21st this year, and Orthodox Easter is right behind it on April 28th. Traditionally, Orthodox Christians bake a special Easter bread, called kulich, to celebrate the holiday and break a lent diet with a colorful Easter egg and a slice of kulich for breakfast. Kulich is a dome-looking yeasted bread that is typically barely sweet inside but is covered with sugar glaze and sprinkles on top. It’s somewhat similar to panettone but is less fragrant and may or may not have any dried fruits inside.

Sounds pretty nice, right? It is if you’re are a regular gluten eating person. What do you do when you have to eat gluten free though? If you said “die from envy”, you wouldn’t be far off.  I have seen commercially made gluten free panettone in stores during Christmas. You’d be up to a huge disappointment though if you try to find finding a gluten free kulich anywhere. Perhaps somewhere in Eastern Europe, you may find one (I highly doubt it nevertheless), so the only choice really that you have is to either go without, which is very sad if you ask me, or try making your own.

This is, my friends, where you should be happy you’re one of my followers! I’ve got you! I brought you a delectable looking gluten free panettone last Christmas. Today I’m bringing you a recipe for a gluten free kulich. This was my task to recreate a traditional Ukrainian Easter bread this spring no matter how I feel, and I think I’ve met my challenge quite nicely. I’ve resurrected Ukrainian kulich in its gluten free version.

You have two weeks till Orthodox Easter to practice making your own. Please follow all the specific recommendations that I give to yield the best results. And, if you’re not up to this task or simply just want to sit this one out, would you please at least scroll through the recipe part so you can admire all the pretty pictures I created for you!

Have a wonderful Easter holiday, whichever one you celebrate, and cheers to yet another successful gluten free recipe!

What’s Cooking This Week

Of course we’re making gluten free kulich today (more like resurrecting it). Please take a note about a combination of gluten free flours I used for this recipe. I combined a plain (no xanthan gum added) gluten free blend, Better Batter in this case, with a high starch pastry type gluten free blend, Manhattan Blend by Orly in this case, with proportions of 1 part of plain flour to 3 parts of pastry flour. Note that any all purpose (with xanthan gum) or any beans blends will not work here. Please sift all flours thoroughly before using and use a spoon to fill the measuring cups rather than a scoop-in method. Add all flours in small increments and watch the consistency of your dough, you may need a bit more or less flour than listed. Gluten free yeast dough is very capricious and fragile so make sure you have enough time (and patience) to dedicate to this recipe as it involves multiple steps and takes awhile, but I’ll be completely rewarded for your hard work with a delicious Easter treat.

Gluten Free Ukrainian Kulich (Easter Bread)

Sift, measure and combine the flours. Add a bit of Expandex as indicated to help with texture improvement.

Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature and measured correctly also.

Start by making yeast sponge combining milk with sugar, flour and yeast. Set it aside for 10-15 minutes till yeast starts to bubble.

Then make a flour sponge by combining the rest of milk and 1 1/2 cup of flour combo. Use a paddle attachment to mix in yeast sponge. You’ll end up with a thick batter looking dough.

Cover it and set it aside in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.

In a mean while, beat together eggs with sugar till it’s foamy and pale, gradually add orange zest, vanilla and orange extracts, salt, rum, oil, and melted butter.

Switch to a dough hook and return flour sponge to a mixer, mix to combine, then gradually add about 1 1/2 cup of flour combo. You’ll end up with a sticky dough.

Measure 1/2 cup of flour combo and adding in small increments, knead dough on a lightly floured surface till a smooth dough develops.

Gather it into a ball, oil the surface and place in a warm place to rise for 1-1.5 hours.

Punch dough lightly down and, if you want to decorate the top, separate 1/3 of it. Otherwise, roll dough into a ball and place it in a baking container. A panettone mold will do just fine. Let it rest for another 30 minutes so it expands inside the baking mold.

Decorate the top as desired. You can make a twisted rope and weave it around the edges. It’s also traditional to make a large X on top of kulich (Christ is Христос in Ukrainian).  Brush with egg wash and secure decorations with tooth picks in place.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350F degrees for about 10 minutes, then lower it to 325F and bake for another 45-50 minutes till the top is deep golden, and kulich sounds hollow on the inside.

Cool inside the mold before taking it out. Decorate with either merengue glaze or simple sugar glaze. I chose the latter and added a lot of sprinkles.

Your house will probably smell of vanilla and sugar by the time you’re done with your creation.

Wait till the glaze sets in before you cut kulich.

I’m sure it won’t be easy to wait till you sample it.

You got a lightly sweet yeasted bread with a tight crumb yet a soft texture.

Congratulate yourself on creating a delicious Easter treat that tastes great gluten free or not!