Another classic Czech/Slovak recipe:Mazanec / Dalsi klasicky CS recept: Mazanec

A couple of days ago I baked a traditional sweet bread called Mazanec (a Butter bread). As the name suggests it is not one of your diet meals – it is high in fat and high in cholesterol. But the good part is that if you make this bread you will be continuing a tradition that is at least 6 centuries old! The Czechs either bake it on New Years or on Easter (hence the cross in the middle which signifies Jesus’s crucifixion).

The New Year’s tradition is a little more interesting because you get to mix a real money coin in the dough and bake it with it. The tradition says that whoever gets the slice which has the coin in it will be rich for the rest of the year. I baked it just a couple of days ago, almost 3/4 of the loaf is gone and still no sign of the coin :).

CZ: Tak jsem se pred par dny pustila do Mazance – nikdy jsem ho sama jeste nepekla. Jak sami vite, neni to nic dietniho, ale kdyz uz ho pecete, tak vas alespon muze hrat u srdicka, ze podporujete 600 let starou tradici!

Na Novy Rok se do mazance vetsinou zapeka mince, a ta osoba, ktera ji obdrzi v krajici ma byt po cely rok velmi bohata. Nas krajic uz je ze tri ctvrtin pryc a po penizku ani vidu ani slechu.

Ingredients:

• 5 cups of all-purpose flour (500 g)
• 0.5 cups of granulated sugar (11 dkg)
• 1 cup of milk (250 ml)
• 1 Tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 package of dry yeast
• 3 egg yolks
• 7 Tbs of  unsalted butter (11 dkg)
• 1/4 Tsp of salt
• 1 cup of raisens
• 1 cup of sliced almonds
• OPTIONAL: 1 penny

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• 1 egg to brush the loaf
• sliced almonds

Method:

1. Mix the yeast with some milk and a little bit of sugar and let them rise for about 10 minutes
2. In another bowl mix in all of the dry ingredients first (including the penny, raisins and almonds), then make a hole in the middle and slowly add in the rest of milk, egg yolks, vanilla and a melted butter. Mix it in with a little bit of flour that is around and then slowly add the yeast mixture and mix it in.
3. Make a dough with your hands.
4. Let it stand in a worm place until the dough rises (for about 45 minutes) and when you press on it it bounces back.
5. Work the dough again with your hands, make a small ball out of it and make a cross in the middle of the top part.
6. Let it rise in a worm place one more time.
7. Brush the whole loaf with egg and sprinkle it with some sliced almonds
8. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and for additional 25 minutes at 250 degrees Fahrenheit.

rozinky loupané mandle