Kulich, Russian Easter bread

It’s a good time to start preparing Easter recipes, like this Kulich, Russian Easter bread. I have to say that last year I didn’t want to prepare it, but this year I wasn’t going to do it again…. I took good note of it and it has been the first recipe I have prepared for this festive season.

As a little preview, I would like to tell you that at home it has been very much appreciated, although it certainly does not have much merit… I think that any enriched dough is, without a doubt, a complete and utter success every time.

What is Kulich?

This is a traditional Orthodox Easter preparation, originating in Russia and eaten by Orthodox Christians throughout Eastern Europe in the days between Easter and Pentecost. This enriched sweet bread is made with some ingredients forbidden during Lent, making it highly appealing to those who have done without them during the 40 days leading up to Easter.

In many communities, the priest blesses the kulich made by members of the community, and it is eaten for breakfast with cheese spread known as paskhaand eggs dyed red to symbolise the blood of Christ.

The Orthodox Easter celebration is known as Pascha. It is an important holiday for Orthodox Christians, who spend the 40 days leading up to Easter observing Lent and attending regular church services. On Easter Sunday, Orthodox Christians usually attend midnight ceremonies to celebrate Christ’s resurrection, and a special Easter meal, often including kulich in Russian Orthodox communities, follows the midnight service.

This Easter bread is baked in a cylindrical mould, resulting in a bread with a cylindrical shape and a domed dome.

The top is covered with white icing that runs down the sides and is often decorated with religious symbols or the letters ‘XB’ – ‘Христос воскрес‘, which means ‘Christ is risen’ in the Cyrillic alphabet. This is the traditional Russian greeting at Easter. The response to this greeting is “Воистину воскрес”.

When kulich is served, the upper part (the dome) is usually cut off and placed in the centre of the dish, and the rest of the cylinder is cut into wedges. Nowadays, most Russians cut the kulich like a normal cake, into wedges, cutting it straight across from top to bottom. However, this traditional method was the one used in the old days. First the ‘корона‘ was cut, and then the rest of the bread was cut into horizontal slices or wedges, to be divided among the members of the family.

The “корона” was then placed back on top of the excess bread. In this way, not only did it maintain its aesthetic appearance, but it also helped to preserve the bread’s freshness.

This is made with a basic milk bread dough that includes dried fruits, such as sultanas, and nuts, such as almonds. We already know that, depending on the hands that make it, there are an infinite number of variations. Among them, some bakers add candied fruit, orange or lemon, citrus zest or spices such as vanilla, cloves and saffron (I have even seen some recipes carried out with a little green cardamom). You can also add a small amount of rum or brandy to the batter to flavour it.

Historically, wealthier cooks would load their kulich with spices, taking advantage of the relaxation of Lenten rules to make a special preparation.

Kulich origin.

The name kulich, kulitsch, in Russian Кулич, originates from the Greek word “kollix“, meaning “a loaf of bread“.

Its creation dates back to the resurrection of Christ. According to the Bible, on the day of the resurrection, the apostles prepared the table and sat down in the centre, which was formerly Christ’s place, and served freshly baked bread.

Legend has it that when Christ visited the apostles, he ate from this loaf of bread with them.

There is no mention of the kulich in the Old Testament. So its history goes back to ancient pagan times. At that time, one of the Christian customs was the preparation of Easter cakes and their consecration in church. Kulich is therefore considered a pagan pastry.

After Christ’s resurrection, kulich became a Christian tradition. Thus, although it appeared long before Christianity, it was integrated into the religious society without any problems, like many phenomena of the pagan world.

The Christian tradition has nothing to do with paganism. The pagans probably had a similar tradition, but in Christianity, kulich has a completely different meaning.

Kulich acquired its modern shape thanks to the Polish king Stanislav Leshchinsky in the early 17th century, invented by his chef.

The top of each loaf is called ‘корона‘ or ‘crown‘ and is usually covered with a sugar glaze that is drizzled down the sides of the loaf. The spikes created are vaguely reminiscent of Christ’s crown of thorns.

Kulich is traditionally eaten only at Easter. It is usually placed next to the “писанки” (Easter eggs, also called пасхальные яйца) and is served together with “пасха“, Easter cottage cheese, a rich dessert made of thick cottage cheese, nuts, butter and other ingredients. Before consumption, the three elements are traditionally placed in a single basket and taken to a priest for blessing at the service on the Saturday before Easter Sunday.

Easter morning.

At Easter breakfast, when the Lenten fast is broken, the head of the household distributes a blessed Easter egg among all members of the household, and does the same with кулич and пасха. Each portion is said to contain happiness for the coming year.

Kulich is believed to possess a number of mystical properties, and for that reason several kulich are baked for Easter celebrations. At least one of them is intended to be eaten by the family. The rest may be baked to give to the local priest as a tithe, others to feed to farm animals to ensure their health and virility, and still others may be baked and left in a traditional ‘красный угол‘, or ‘red/beautiful corner‘, which is where Russian households traditionally kept icons in honour of dead relatives.

Kulich can be made in different shapes, but traditionally it is usually round and tall.

Baking kulich was one of the most important ceremonial tasks for the woman of the house, as the fate of the family depended on it. Russians have traditionally been a dramatic and superstitious people, and this applied even to the baking of the kulich.

It was said “если кулич хорошо поднялся и вышел ладный, то в семье будет все хорошо. А если тесто в печи не подошло или растрескалась корка, надо ждать несчастья“. (If the kulich rises well and forms well, it means that the family will be fine. But if the dough does not rise in the oven, or if the crust cracks, it foretells disaster).

To decorate it, it can be covered with a sugar or white chocolate glaze. Although there are also some uncovered, just scored with a cross in the dough that was made before baking.

The preparation of the dough is a ritual that must be carried out in peace and quiet, since it is a family sacrament on which, as the ancestors believed, the life of the family depended.

It is forbidden to prepare a kulich dough in a hurry or in a bad mood. Russians believe that it is a food capable of absorbing the energy of the person who makes it and thus transmitting it. It is important for the person making it to be in an excellent state of mind so as not to transmit irritation and fatigue to his or her family during these holy days.

So I have little to say…. Make sure you take a deep breath and have all the time you need to do it, without rushing. With a lot of care, patience and love. But not only for this preparation, but for all the ones you prepare. Remember that there will always be a little bit of you in everything you do.