Kulich

Most recipes in this section

will outline a brief history.

Bread was an important staple

in lives of the villagers. I know

of no one who couldn't bake

excellent bread. Children as

young as seven or eight learned

to mix and knead without a recipe.

Bread was made not only for

home but for the Traps (fish traps

no longer in existence), fish sites

(gillnet on the beach) and fishing

boats. This meant two or three

times a week large dishpans of

dough were set to rise before

going to bed or early in the morning.

Since going to the store for ice cream

was out of the question our treats

were fried bread, cinnamon rolls,

hot rolls or a thick slab of hot

buttered bread. The best treat

of all was Kulich since it was

only consumed for 40 days after

Easter. The elders made the bread

without nuts or other fancy ingredients

hoarding raisins, eggs and sugar for

the occasion. Tin cans of various sizes

were saved for the bread. Extra

kulich was always on hand for gifts.

Although there were no written

recipes there seemed to be a yearly

competition over who baked the best

Kulich. I learned to bake this bread

without a recipe but over the years

I began to add fruit peels and

other ingredients.

7 to 8 cups flour

2 packages of rapid rise yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1/4 cup warm water

2-tsp. almond or lemon extract

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3/4 cup canned evaporated milk

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup soft butter

Grated peel of half and orange

Grated peel of one lemon

2/3 cup granulated sugar

6 eggs slightly beaten

Use any of the following ingredients:

2/3 cups toasted slivered almonds

1/2 cup dried currants

1/2 cup raisins

Or you can use candied fruits or

cut up gumdrops or other similar things

Although many modern recipes call

for candied fruit most people in

Ninilchik do not use citron.

Use the 1/4 cup water warm enough to

dissolve yeast and add the tsp. sugar.

Sprinkle the yeast on the water and

slightly swish the bowl. F it fails to

rise and bubble you have killed the

yeast. Start over. (Because we

often had old yeast my mother developed

this technique and it still works today

for all breads). Mix milk and water

together and scald. Remove

from stove and add, butter,

extract, sugar, salt and peel. Cool

to almost lukewarm and add the

eggs. Beat in flour until to stiff

to stir. Turn on a floured board

gradually working in flour

and knead for ten minutes.

Continue kneading until dough

is soft and elastic. Do not add

too much flour or dough will

be stiff. Gradually work in fruit

and nuts. Grease a large bowl.

Place bread in bowl and oil the

dough to prevent crusting and

drying. Cover and place in a

warm spot until almost double.

(This used to be on the steps

behind the coal stove). Let rise

until double in bulk. (You may

rise again in the dishpan or bowl

or roll into shapes) Punch

down and let rest for 5 minutes.

Roll dough into various size

balls. Place balls in the greased

tin cans you have been saving.

Oil the top of the dough. Let

rise until double. Bake in a

350-degree oven. Baking time

will vary according to size of

bread. When dough is baked

remove from cans and use butter

to oil the crust. Roll warm

bread in clean dishtowels and

place on rack to cool. You may

frost and decorate the bread or

wrap and store. We still take

the decorated bread to church

for the Easter services along

with a basket of dyed eggs. We

have it blessed as part of our

Easter Service and bring it back

home for breakfast. There were

superstitions involved with the

baking of Kulich. My mother

used to say if the Kulich had a

large air hole in the middle

someone is going to die. This

is tied to the Tradition of

Kulich representing the "Living Bread."

Copyrite@1997 This pertains to backgrounds and text. You may

copy the recipes but the history found on each

page of this site belongs to Agrafena's

and Chuda's children (the usage

is mainly intended for them)

If you are doing college research as many

of you are, please notify me.

The photographs are mine. Taking photographs is costly

And time consuming.

Thank you.