Vánočka
Braided sweet Christmas bread- Yield
- 1 loaf (about 14 slices)
- Active
- 1 hour
- Total
- 3 hours
- Difficulty
- Medium
The story
Nine strands of dough, stacked in three tiers, go into a traditional vánočka, the braided sweet bread with raisins and almonds, and each strand carries its own symbolic meaning: the bottom four stand for earth, sun, water, and air; the middle three for reason, will, and emotion; and the top two for knowledge and love. The crisscross pattern of the braid is itself considered protective — a belief that it wards evil away from the home, one that reaches back to pre-Christian Slavic traditions, before the bread became part of the Christian celebration of Christmas. Braiding a true nine-strand vánočka is a real skill handed down through the generations, and many grandmothers judge their daughters and granddaughters by how evenly thin and neatly braided the strands are. The bread is sliced for breakfast with coffee throughout the holidays, Christmas morning included — though in Czech homes the presents have already been opened by then, on Christmas Eve after dinner. For Czech families in the diaspora, braiding vánočka together with the children is one of the most powerful and most photographed moments of passing on their heritage, even when the symbolism of the strands has long since been forgotten by some of those at the table.
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
- 1 egg, beaten, for glazing
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Method
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk with a pinch of the sugar; let stand 10 minutes until foamy.
- Combine the flour, remaining sugar, and salt. Add the yeast mixture, butter, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla, and knead into a smooth, elastic dough, about 8–10 minutes.
- Knead in the raisins and almonds. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Divide the dough into nine pieces of decreasing size and roll each into a rope: braid four ropes into a base braid, three into a slightly smaller braid to sit on top, and twist the remaining two together for the very top.
- Stack the braids on a baking sheet, largest on the bottom, push two wooden skewers straight down through all three braids so the loaf does not lean as it bakes, cover loosely, and let rise 30–40 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush with beaten egg and bake 35–45 minutes, tenting with foil if browning too quickly, until deep golden and it sounds hollow when tapped.
- Cool, pull out the skewers, and dust with powdered sugar before slicing; serve on Christmas morning with coffee.
Note: If you like, soak the raisins in rum for 30 minutes and drain them well before kneading them in.