Cozonac — Romanian Easter Sweet Bread

Romania's Paschal sweet bread — a tall, rich, twisted loaf swirled with a walnut, cocoa, and rum
filling that becomes a mesmerising dark spiral when sliced. Every Romanian family has a cozonac
recipe passed down from grandmother. The dough must be worked until it sings. The filling must be
generous. The result is one of the great Easter breads of the world.

FASTING LEVEL: Non-Fasting (butter, eggs, milk)

SERVINGS: 2 large loaves (16 servings)
TIME: 6 hours (mostly rising)

INGREDIENTS:
For the dough:
- 1 kg bread flour
- 500 ml warm whole milk
- 200 g sugar
- 180 g butter, melted
- 6 large egg yolks
- 2 whole eggs
- 14 g instant yeast (2 packets)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- Zest of 2 lemons
- Zest of 1 orange
- 2 tablespoons rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the walnut filling:
- 500 g walnuts, finely ground
- 200 g sugar
- 100 ml whole milk
- 3 egg whites
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons rum
- 100 g raisins, soaked in rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For finishing:
- 1 egg yolk + 1 tablespoon milk (egg wash)
- 2 tablespoons sugar + 1 tablespoon water (syrup glaze)
- Pearl sugar or crushed walnuts

METHOD:
1. Make dough: warm the milk slightly. In a small bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons sugar in 100 ml of the milk, add yeast, let foam 10 minutes.
2. In a stand mixer, combine flour, remaining sugar, salt, citrus zests. Add yeast mixture, remaining milk, egg yolks, whole eggs, rum, and vanilla. Knead with dough hook 10 minutes.
3. Add melted butter gradually, 1 tablespoon at a time, kneading until fully incorporated. Total kneading time: 20-25 minutes. The dough will be smooth, silky, and pull away from the bowl.
4. First rise: cover and rise in a warm place 2 hours until tripled in size.
5. Make filling: in a saucepan, warm milk and sugar until sugar dissolves. Pour over ground walnuts, cocoa, rum, vanilla, and raisins. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites to soft peaks and fold in. The filling should be spreadable paste, not soupy.
6. Punch down dough and divide in half. Work one half at a time (keep the other covered).
7. Roll into a rectangle about 50×30 cm, 1 cm thick. Spread half the filling evenly, leaving 2 cm borders.
8. Roll tightly from the long side into a log. Cut the log lengthwise down the middle (so you see the spiral), then twist the two halves together, keeping cut sides up to expose the filling. Pinch ends to seal.
9. Place in a well-buttered loaf pan (25×12 cm tall loaf pan, or a large panettone mould). Cozonac rises high, so choose a tall pan.
10. Repeat with second half.
11. Second rise: cover and rise 60-90 minutes until the dough has risen 1 cm above the pan rim.
12. Brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with pearl sugar or crushed walnuts.
13. Bake at 170C (340F) for 50-60 minutes. If the top browns too fast, cover loosely with foil. A skewer should come out clean.
14. Brush hot loaves with sugar-water syrup. Cool in pans 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool on their sides, rotating occasionally.

NOTES:
- Cozonac requires proper kneading. 20+ minutes in a stand mixer is not optional — the gluten development is what makes the bread tall and springy.
- Every Romanian grandmother has secrets: some add a splash of coffee to the filling; some use poppy seeds; some add a shot of homemade cherry rakia. Find your own signature.
- Cozonac keeps beautifully wrapped tightly for a week. Stale cozonac makes the finest French toast.
- The spiral pattern when sliced is half the magic. Take the time to roll tightly and twist carefully.

NUTRITION (per slice, approximate):
Calories: 380 | Protein: 9 g | Carbohydrates: 42 g | Fat: 20 g | Fibre: 2 g