KOZINJAK (MACEDONIAN SWEET BREAD)

Kozinjak is a Macedonian traditional homemade sweet bread with raisins, usually made in a form of a braid. It's a common treat for holidays, especially for Christmas and Easter.

Ingredients:

    
Pre dough *

  •     1 cube of fresh yeast
  •     1 tablespoon sugar
  •     100 ml warm milk
  •     3-4 tablespoons flour.
    Dough *
  •     1 kg and 200 g flour, add more if needed
  •     400 ml warm milk
  •     6 eggs (standing at room temperature)
  •     200 g sugar
  •     1 tablespoon liquid vanilla essence
  •     1 orange peel
  •     1/2 teaspoon salt
  •     100 g. mixed (light and dark raisins)
  •     200 g. melted butter
    Coating *
  •     1 egg yolk dissolved with a little water. 
  1. Dissolve yeast in some warm milk. Add one tablespoon of flour and half a spoon of sugar and leave to react. 
  2. Place eggs, sugar, salt, orange peel, vanilla, milk and melted butter in a bowl. Add reached yeast. Finally, add the flour. Mix with a spiral mixer whisks about 10 minutes or until the dough gets a bright color. If you want to add raisins, then add them a minute or two before the end of mixing. The dough should be soft and tacky. Cover with a cloth and leave until it doubles volume. 
  3. Sprinkle some flour on your desk, pour the dough, sprinkle with some more flour and knead it briefly. Divide into two parts and each part into as many stripes as you want for the braid. You can shape your kozinjak as desired, there are no rules.
  4. Transfer braided dough in a pan coated with baking paper, cover with a cloth and leave to raise. After rising, brush with beaten egg yolk in which you have added 2 tablespoons of warm water. If desired, sprinkle with sugar, sesame seeds and black sesame seeds.  
  5. Bake at 190 degrees in preheated oven for about 25 minutes.
Enjoy!