Serbia - Cesnica celebration bread

February 15 commemorates the beginning of the Serbian revolution against Ottoman rule in 1804, and the country's first constitution in 1835.

Serbian cuisine combines elements from adjoining countries: Greece, Balkan countries, Turkey, Austria and Hungary. Bread is vital and if you visit a Serbian home you may be welcomed with bread and salt.

A popular Christmas bread is Cesnica, often highly decorated, and shared by breaking the bread apart. Watch these videos for the authentic way to make this bread: the baking and the sharing.

This bread is also known as bozicni kolac, Christmas bread, or money bread as a coin is hidden in the dough before baking. Whoever gets the coin will be lucky for the entire year. In some families, the bread is made without eggs or dairy (and probably served for the fasting meal on Christmas Eve - badnje vece) others make a sweeter version with raisins 

However, as many of these breads are made with a basic bun dough recipe – sweeter, lighter, richer that everyday bread – I thought I would begin with my recipe and then add directions for a lovely cinnamon-sugar pull-apart bread.

BASIC BUNDOUGH

1/4 cup melted butter (65g)

l egg

1/4 cup castor sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dry yeast

l cup lukewarm water and milk mixed together

2.5-3 cups plain flour

Place the flour in a bowl and add salt and yeast and mix together well. Mix the butter, egg, sugar, salt and yeast into the milk-water mixture. Add enough flour to make a soft dough. Mix well and knead until well incorporated. Cover and leave for an hour or until doubled, punch down then use to make the pull-apart loaf.

Cut the dough into small pieces about the size of a small egg and roll each into a ball. Dip each ball into  melted butter, roll in a mixture of castor sugar and cinnamon, then arrange in a couple of layers in a springform cake tin. Cover and let rise for thirty minutes (or until doubled) then bake in a preheated 190C oven for around 40 minutes or until golden. Remove from tin and cool on a rack.

The bread comes out of the oven, fragrant and golden, ready to eat almost immediately.

 Break the bread apart to serve. Sometimes breads like this are called 'monkey bread' - possibly because of the way people use their hands to tear it open.

And of course you can spread it with butter or jam or anything you like. For a savoury version, after dipping the balls in butter, they can be rolled in grated cheese and chopped jalapenos, or herbs or spices.