Sourdough Romanian Easter Braid

This Sourdough Romanian Easter Braid is filled with a delicious paste of finely ground almonds, cinnamon, and lemon zest. It is a wonderful Spring bread.

This braided bread is the bread of the month for the Bread Baking Babes.  Traditionally, it is served on Easter, but you can enjoy this festive bread anytime.

This swirled bread, chosen by Elle, features a beautiful three-strand braid, but what makes it extra special is that each braid is filled with a paste of finely crushed almonds, cinnamon, and lemon zest. It would make a delightful treat for any special occasion or just because.

I made my version with sourdough to fit with my schedule. Using sourdough allowed for a longer fermentation time which not only developed the flavor but made it possible to braid and bake the loaf after work.

Sourdough Romanian Easter Braid

adapted from The Festive Bread Book, by Kathy Cutler

makes one loaf

Dough:
190 grams (1 cup) sourdough starter, recently fed
420 grams (3 cups) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (or orange zest)
1/3 cup milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, beaten

Filling:
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup finely ground almonds (or walnuts, poppy seeds, etc)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (or orange zest)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze:
1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:

Transfer the sourdough starter to a large mixing bowl. Pour the milk into a separate bowl. Melt the butter and add it to the milk to warm it. Add the salt and sugar to the milk mixture and stir until dissolved. Stir in the eggs and lemon (or orange rind); then add the milk/egg mixture to the sourdough and blend well using a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk.

Gradually add the flour one cup (140 grams) at a time until the dough is too stiff to mix with the wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk. The dough will be soft. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead in the remaining flour until the dough is smooth. This should take about 10 minutes.

Place the dough in a clean, greased bowl, turning to coat the top. Cover the bowl and let the dough proof overnight (8 to 12 hours) at room temperature, about 70 degrees F.  The dough should double in size during this time.

Gently transfer the dough to a floured work surface using a spatula or dough scraper.

Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each into a 7 x 16-inch rectangle.

Use 1/3 of the filling for each rectangle. Spread the filling, leaving a margin around the edges, and roll up jelly-roll style. Seal seam and ends. You will have three filled and sealed ropes. Braid ropes; place onto a greased baking sheet.

Cover; let rise in a warm place until double – about 30 minutes.

Make the glaze and brush on the loaf.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree F. oven for 40 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack.

Notes:

I had a couple of mishaps while I was shaping the loaf. The first mishap was rolling out one of the braids too thin which allowed the filling to ooze out during the final proof.  You can see the thin braid in the photo above. I attempted to push the filling back in but this made the dough tear slightly. I ended up eating the filling that oozed out instead.  So if you’re wondering where the rest of the filling is, it sure was good. My recommendation is not to roll out the dough too thin if you want the filling to stay inside.

My second mistake or oversight was to roll out and spread the filling on the first braid before working on the other braids. I did this mainly due to my workspace.  However, this meant that the first braid started proofing before I had finished rolling out the other braids. So I rolled out the remaining braids simultaneously, spread the filling on them, and then rolled them up one after another.  This made the second and third braid more uniform.

Even with these mishaps, the bread didn’t look any worse for the wear even though the braids weren’t as uniform as they could have been.  Once I tasted it, all was forgotten. The sourdough gave it a complex flavor, but it wasn’t sour at all.  And, the filling was wonderful. I had ground the almonds in my coffee grinder and it left some larger pieces. This gave the filling a slightly crunchy texture.  I enjoyed the texture and flavor of this bread.

 

Pat of Feeding My Enthusiasms is the host kitchen this month. If you would like to bake along with us and earn your Bread Baking Buddy badge, just make your version of this Romanian Easter Braid (more info in her post) by the 29th of the month.

See what the other Bread Baking Babes did with this month’s bread:
Cozonac (Romanian Easter Bread) – blog from OUR kitchen
Romanian Easter Braid – Notitie van Lien
Romanian Easter Braid w/ Walnut-Coconut-Rum Swirl – girlichef
Romanian Easter Bread – My Kitchen in Half Cups
Romanian Spring Braid – Feeding My Enthusiasms
Sourdough Romanian Easter Braid – breadexperience
Roundup: Bread Baking Babes Celebrate Spring with a Twist – Thyme for Cooking

 

Happy Baking!
Cathy