Ingredients (1 loaf)

For the dough

• 200 ml milk at 95 F / 35 C (I used non-fat)
• 1 tablespoon / 15 ml water
• 2.5 g instant yeast
• 3 large egg yolks from pastured poultry: 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g
• 1 large egg from pastured poultry: 2 oz. / 55 g
• 20 g olive oil
• 20 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 20 g agave nectar or fluid honey
• 1 teaspoon / 5 ml vanilla extract
• Grated zest of half an organic lemon
• 14 1/8 oz. / 400 g all-purpose flour (King Arthur Flour is the brand I always use to make bread), plus as needed to knead and shape the bread
• 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g whole-wheat flour
• 1 3/4 oz. / 50 g sprouted whole-wheat flour (the one I use is also from KAF)
• 1 teaspoon / 5 g salt

For the filling

• 3 oz. / 85 g raisins, chopped if large
• 15 ml Amaretto or rum
• 1/2 cup / 120 ml tea
• 3 oz. / 85 g walnuts (see below)

For the surface

• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons / 10 ml water
• Poppy seeds

Instructions

Make the dough the evening before baking the bread

Pour milk and water in a bowl, add the yeast and whisk lightly. Add the next 7 ingredients and whisk a bit more to break the yolks.

Add flours and salt and stir to make a shaggy dough. Scrape the side of the bowl well to incorporate all the flour. Let rest 10 minutes or so.

With a wet wooden spoon or a dough whisk, work the dough for a couple of minutes.

Lightly flour your kneading board or working surface and empty the bowl on it. With the help of a bench scraper, work the dough a bit longer. It is a bit tacky, but refrain from adding more than a light dusting flour.

Oil a clean bowl. Stretch and tightly the dough and place it into the bowl. Cover it with a clean shower cap or plastic wrap and set aside to ferment overnight at room temperature.

(As our house becomes fairly cool at night, I placed the bowl on top of the refrigerator, where the temperature is higher.)

Prepare the raisins the evening before baking the bread

Place raisins in a small bowl and pour the liqueur of choice on them. Stir, then cover with the tea.

Prepare the walnuts

If your walnuts are freshly cracked, toast them lightly in a dry pan, shaking the pan often.

Otherwise, in her “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone”, Deborah Madison gives instructions on how to treat walnuts to improve their flavor when they aren’t freshly cracked, and make them less irritating for people who are sensitive to their skins. Bring a pan of water to a boil, add walnuts and let them stand for one minute, then drain them and absorb the excess moisture with a towel. Finally, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat and place them in the oven preheated to 300 F until they have dried out, 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the oven as soon as they are dry. (I do this for 6-8 oz. / 170-225 g walnuts at a time since I use walnuts often in my recipes. Store walnuts in the refrigerator.)

Shape the bread

The morning after, with the help of a scale, divide the dough into three pieces of equal weight.

Measure the amount of walnuts required and chop them rather finely. Drain the raisins.

Lightly flour your kneading board or working surface. Flatten a piece of dough into a 14″ x 7″ / 35.5 x 17.5 cm rectangle. Distribute 1 oz. / 28 g of walnuts on each rectangle of dough, then one third of the amount of raisins, leaving a margin of 1 inch / 2.5 cm all around (see photo below: it’s not pretty but should make it clear what I mean).

Starting with a long edge, roll the rectangle into a log. Place log on a lightly floured silicone baking mat resting on the back side of a baking sheet. Repeat with the other two pieces of dough. Braid the logs, tucking the ends neatly.

Whisk egg yolk with water and brush the surface. Let the braid rise until puffy (a dimple made on the dough with your fingertip persists). The time needed depends on the room temperature (1-2 hours).

Bake the bread

Preheat the oven to 325 F / 163 C, and place another baking sheet in the oven. If you have the convection bake option use it (and if your oven does not do it automatically, adjust the temperature accordingly).

When you are ready to bake the braid, brush the surface again and sprinkle it with poppy seeds.

Take the hot baking sheet out of the oven and slide on it the silicone baking mat with the braid. Bake the braid for 20 minutes, then turn the sheet 180 degrees and continue baking until golden, about 20 more minutes. When the bread is done, a digital thermometer inserted into the center should register 190 F / 88 C.

Remove the bread from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool.

Let it cool undisturbed before slicing.

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Go to the full post on pane di Pasqua bulgaro / Bulgarian Easter bread