The Transylvanian sweet bread with raisins, or “cozonac cu stafide”, is a traditional Romanian pastry that is a must-have during Easter celebrations. This soft and fluffy bread is made with a sweet dough infused with aromatic vanilla and lemon zest and studded with juicy raisins that add sweetness to every bite. Baked to perfection, this Transylvanian sweet bread with raisins is a delightfully indulgent treat perfect for sharing with family and friends.
Table of Contents
This recipe will walk you through the step-by-step process of making this excellent Transylvanian sweet bread that will become a staple in your Easter celebrations.
It is delicious, not very sweet, and ideal for Easter breakfast. With a bit of butter on top and a slice of smoked and boiled ham, it’s a delight.
The sweet bread made from the Transylvanian or Hungarian recipe is a little sweet and consumed instead of bread. We in the family make the braid version with and without raisins.
Ingredients
Many people are discouraged when cooking sweet bread and making leavened dough. But believe me, it’s not that hard, and the result will delight you. Homemade sweet bread is very tasty and does not compare to the taste of the one on the market.
The only things to remember are the ingredients’ quality and quantity.
It starts with proofing the yeast. For this, we cut 25 g of fresh yeast in 300 ml of warm milk, in which I put a spoonful of sugar.
I stir everything and let it stand warmly for 15-20 minutes to proof it.
I put the hand of brown raisins in 100 ml hot water and a teaspoon of rum essence for 10 minutes.
After being soaked, I took them out of the water and dried them on paper.
I melted 50 g of unsalted butter.
In the dough, we also need two egg yolks.
For one sweet bread, I used 500 g of wheat flour type 000 (triple zero), in which I put a pinch of salt and the rest of the sugar. We need 40 grams of sugar, of which I put one tablespoon of sugar on the yeast.
How to Make the Sweet Bread With Raisins?
Make the Dough
We are going to mix the ingredients. Put the melted butter and egg yolks in the middle of the wheat flour.
Then turn the milk with the proofed yolk of the raisins. We mix everything well and start kneading the dough. You can use an electric mixer using a dough hook attachment to ease your work.
I knead the dough with my hand because I like to feel it and how it is formed. I knead the dough for about 15 minutes until the dough does not stick off the bowl.
Coat the dough with flour, cover it with a kitchen towel and put it in a warm place to rise for one-one and a half hours.
The dough must double its volume. After growing, I removed the dough to a table, sprinkled with flour, and split it into four parts.
From each quarter, we’re rolling a 15 “-16” rope braiding.
I anointed some butter in a baking dish and sprinkled it with flour. I put the braid in this pot and left it for another 30 minutes to rest.
Baking the Sweet Bread With Raisins
In one bowl, I mixed an egg with a spoonful of milk. With this, I thoroughly dip the knit dough to get a nice colour when baking. I preheat the oven to 150 degrees and put the dough in the baking for 45-50 minutes.
After I removed the sweet yeast bread from the oven, I covered it with a kitchen towel and allowed it to cool.
Serving
The Transylvanian sweet bread with raisins can be served in various ways, depending on personal preference. Here are some popular serving suggestions:
- Sliced and toasted: The sweet bread can be sliced into thick pieces and toasted until golden brown. Serve with a generous spread of butter or jam for a delicious breakfast or snack.
- Plain or with honey: Enjoy a slice of the sweet bread or drizzled with honey for extra sweetness.
- French toast: Transform the sweet bread into a decadent French toast by dipping slices into a mixture of beaten eggs, milk, and cinnamon and frying until golden brown.
- Bread pudding: Use leftover sweet bread to make a rich and indulgent bread pudding. Cut the bread into cubes, soak in a mixture of eggs, milk, sugar, and cinnamon, and bake until golden and crispy on top.
- Ice cream sandwich: Take your dessert game to the next level by using slices of sweet bread to make ice cream sandwiches. Place a scoop of your favourite ice cream between two slices of bread, and enjoy!
Delicious! I recommend you try this sweet bread recipe or more dough recipes for our blog:
- Cottage Cheese Donuts
- Sugar-Free Banana Bread
- Homemade Fried Dough Recipe
- Best Plum Dumplings Recipe
- Perfect Yeast Doughnuts
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Sweet Bread-Transylvanian Easter Recipe with Raisins
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 loaf baking pan
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 500 g wheat flour tip 000 or 00
- 25 g yeast fresh or 2 teaspoon dry yeast
- 300 ml milk
- 40 g sugar
- 2 pieces egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon rum flavor
- 50 g raisins brown or yellow
- 50 g butter unsalted and melted
From glaze:
- 1 piece egg
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
Let’s Get Started
- When it comes to cooked sweet bread and making leavened dough, many people are discouraged. But believe me, it’s not that hard and the result will delight you. Home made sweet bread is very tasty and does not compare to taste with the one in the market.
- The only things to keep in mind are the quality and quantity of the ingredients.
- It starts with proofing the yeast. For this, we cut 25 g of fresh yeast in 300 ml of warm milk in which I put a spoon of sugar. I stir everything and let it stand for 15-20 minutes in a warming place to proof.
- I put the hand of brown raisins in 100 ml of hot water and a teaspoon of rum essence for 10 minutes. After being soaked, I took them out of the water and dried them on a paper towel.
- I melted 50 g of unsalted butter. In the dough we also need two egg yolks.
- For one sweet bread, I used 500 g of wheat flour type 000 (triple zero) in which I put a pinch of salt and the rest of the sugar. We need 40 grams of sugar, of which I put one tablespoon of sugar on the yeast.
Make the Dough
- We are going to mix the ingredients. We need 40 grams of sugar, of which I put one tablespoon of sugar on the yeast. Then turn the milk with the proofed yolk the raisins.
- We mix everything well and start knead the dough. To ease your work you can use an electric mixer using a dough hook attachment.
- I knead the dough with my hand because I like to feel the dough how it is formed. I knead the dough for about 15 minutes until the dough not stick off the bowl.
- Coat the dough with flour, cover with a kitchen towel and put in a warm place to rise for one-one and a half of hour. Dough must double its volume.
- After growing, I removed the dough on a table, sprinkled with flour and I split it into four parts. From each quarter, we’re rolling a 15 “-16” rope that we are braiding.
- I anointed with some butter a baking dish, and sprinkled with flour on the inside. I put the braid in this pot, and I left it for another 30 minutes to rest.
Cooking the Sweet Bread
- In one bowl I mixed an egg with a spoonful of milk. With this, I thoroughly dip the knit dough to get a nice color when baking.
- I preheat the oven to 150 degrees and put the dough in baking for 45-50 minutes.
- After I removed the cake from the oven, I covered it with a kitchen towel and allowed it to cool.