Cozonac is the sweet yeast bread that in Moldova and Romania every housewife bakes for Easter, Christmas and family celebrations. Inside it is soft and fluffy, with a spiral of walnut or poppy seed, outside golden and glossy. The smell of fresh cozonac is the smell of a holiday that you cannot mistake for anything else.

What the flavour is made of

Cozonac rests on three things: a good yeast dough, a juicy filling and patience. The dough should be enriched: eggs, butter and milk make it soft. The flour must be of good quality, top grade, with good gluten.

The filling is walnut with sugar: walnuts chopped not to dust but to a coarse crumb. Some add raisins, cocoa or lemon zest, but the classic is only walnut.

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Yeast and warmth

Yeast is a living organism, and it needs warmth, not heat. The milk should be at about thirty degrees: warm, not hot. Hot kills the yeast, cold does not wake it. Add a pinch of sugar and a spoon of flour and wait ten minutes: if foam appears, the yeast is alive.

The dough rises in a warm place without draughts. It should double in an hour and a half. If the house is cold, put the bowl next to a radiator or in a barely warm oven.

Kneading: fifteen minutes by hand

Cozonac demands long kneading. Fifteen minutes by hand or ten in a mixer: the dough should become smooth, soft and stretch into a thin transparent film without tearing. Do not add much flour: the dough should be slightly sticky. Too much flour makes the cozonac dry.

Add the butter at the end of kneading, in pieces, when the dough has already come together. Then it mixes in better.

Filling and assembly

Chop the walnuts with a knife or in a blender into a coarse crumb, mix with the sugar and milk to a thick paste. Roll the dough into a thin rectangle, spread the filling evenly, leaving an edge, and roll up tightly.

The roll can be placed whole in the tin or cut lengthwise and plaited, exposing the spiral of filling. That way the cozonac looks beautiful when cut.

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Second rise and baking

After assembling, let the cozonac stand another forty minutes in the tin: it doubles. Brush the top with beaten egg and bake at 180 degrees for about fifty minutes. If the top darkens too fast, cover it with foil.

Cool the finished cozonac in the tin for ten minutes, then on a rack. Do not cut it hot: the crumb will collapse.

If the dough does not rise

The most common trouble: the dough just sits there. There are three causes: the yeast is old, the milk was too hot or the kitchen is cold. Test the yeast by the froth in the milk. If there is no froth, replace the yeast before wasting the other ingredients. If the dough is merely sluggish, put it in a warm place for another hour and cover it with a damp towel. It is better not to hurry here: cozonac forgives a long rise and does not forgive haste.

How to serve

Cozonac is cut into thick slices and served with tea, milk or coffee. At the festive table it is also at home beside pască. Fresh cozonac is good on its own, and on the second day it makes excellent toast in a pan.

How to save money

Cozonac is one of the best-value festive dishes: cheap flour, eggs, sugar and milk make a big loaf that lasts several days. For the festive table see the Easter basket:

What it costs: Easter groceries: where to buy them cheaper

The whole set at the best prices97.13 leiFound 4 of 5 items

Where to get the set

  • Linella4 of 5 itemsMost items
    81.96 leiMissing: Eggs
  • METRO4 of 5 items
    113.60 leiMissing: Eggs
  • Slavena3 of 5 items
    51.85 leiMissing: Eggs, Sugar
  • Nr13 of 5 items
    79.10 leiMissing: Eggs, Flour
The whole basket