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Cozonac
Cozonac or kozunak, loaded with a rum-spiked walnut filling, is the traditional Romanian celebration bread for Christmas and Easter. Find our recipe here.
👥 2 Servings👤 Irina Georgescu📖 epicurious
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●bowl
- ●pan
- ●oven
📝 Preparation Steps
1
To make the maiu, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, cover, and set aside in a warm place for ⏱️ 25 minutes or until doubled in size.
2
To make the dough, dissolve the yeast in the milk. In a separate bowl, combine the egg yolks with the salt, then add the sugar and rum. Pour the egg mixture over the maiu and add the milk and yeast, then gradually add the flour, citrus zests, and vanilla extract. Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Knead for about ⏱️ 10 minutes or until the dough is soft and comes away from the sides of the bowl. Add the butter, a little at a time, kneading after each addition until well incorporated. (I prefer to do this by hand as it is more gentle on the dough, and you can feel the mixture becoming silky and elastic-an indication that the butter has been well incorporated.) Leave to rise in a warm place (over 70 °F) for 1½ to ⏱️ 2 hours.
egg yolks6(200 g) walnuts, grounds2 cupsegg yolk, whisked with 1 Tbsp. milk1
3
To make the filling, fold all of the remaining ingredients into the whisked egg whites and set aside.
egg whites, whisked to very soft peaks2(200 g) walnuts, grounds2 cups
4
If the dough is too hot to handle after rising, knock the air out of it and refrigerate for ⏱️ 30 minutes. Use some oil to grease a work surface, turn out the dough, and divide in four. Using your fingertips, stretch one of the pieces of dough into a rectangle about 16 by 12 inches. With the long side parallel to you, spread a fourth of the filling evenly onto the dough and roll it into a log. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
5
Grease two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans. Place one log over another to form an X shape. Twist the logs of dough together, starting with one side of the X, then repeat with the other side. Place the twisted dough into the pan, doubling over itself to make it fit. Repeat the process with the remaining two pieces of dough, then cover with a damp dish towel. Leave to proof in a warm place for at least ⏱️ 1 hour.
6
Preheat the oven to 375 °F. Glaze the bread very gently with egg wash and bake for ⏱️ 25 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 and bake for a further ⏱️ 20 minutes, covering with foil if the top browns too quickly. Cool the cozonac upside-down on a wire rack, to prevent the bottom from becoming soggy. Serve sliced with a glass of hot milk.
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