Romanian sweet bread with rum flavor
The rum-flavored sweet bread is almost always present in our house, especially during the holidays. My mother never made sweet bread without adding plenty of rum essence – she always said that’s what makes it a true sweet bread. I tried to follow her method, but I made one change: I added sour cream to the dough after noticing how well yogurt works in bread. This time I used sour cream, and the sweet bread turned out very fluffy. The sour cream really makes a difference in texture. Quick Info Total time: approximately 3 hours (includes rising and baking) Actual preparation time: about 1 hour Rising time: 1-1.5 hours in total Baking time: 40-45 minutes Servings: 3 large sweet breads Difficulty: medium, requires patience Occasion: holidays, weekend Ingredients For the dough: 6 egg yolks 200 g sugar 4 tablespoons sour cream 200 ml oil 500 ml milk 1 teaspoon salt 50 g fresh yeast grated zest of ½ lemon grated zest of ½ orange 1 bottle of rum essence 1 kg flour (I used freshly ground country flour) For the filling: 6 egg whites 6 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons cocoa powder 2 tablespoons finely ground walnuts 150 g coarsely chopped walnuts a pinch of salt For brushing: 1 egg yolk 1 teaspoon milk Instructions 1. All ingredients for the dough should sit at room temperature for at least an hour before you start. Sift the flour into a large bowl to aerate it. 2. In a separate bowl, mix the yeast with a tablespoon of sugar until it dissolves. Then add a little warm milk and a handful of flour. Combine the mixture and let the yeast rise for 15-20 minutes in a warm place. 3. In the meantime, mix the egg yolks with half the sugar (I use finely ground sugar), some of the oil, and the 4 tablespoons of sour cream. 4. Gently warm the remaining milk and dissolve the rest of the sugar in it. 5. Make a well in the center of the flour, pour in the risen yeast, then add the yolk mixture with oil and sour cream, lemon zest, orange zest, and rum essence. Start incorporating the flour, gradually adding warm milk. Don’t pour all the milk at once; add it as the flour absorbs it. 6. Reserve some oil for kneading at the end; incorporate the rest into the dough along the way. 7. When the dough starts to become sticky and viscous, stop adding flour. The dough should not be too stiff. 8. Grease the work surface with the remaining oil and turn the dough out onto the surface. Knead, continually greasing the surface with oil, until you finish the reserved oil. The dough should become elastic and slightly greasy on the surface. If you place it on a paper, the paper should visibly grease. 9. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes, or until it doubles in volume. It’s important for the temperature to be consistent in the working area. 10. For the filling, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt and the 6 tablespoons of sugar until you achieve a stiff foam. Then add the cocoa powder and the 2 tablespoons of finely ground walnuts. 11. After rising, divide the dough into three equal parts. Roll each part on the greased surface using a rolling pin into a rectangular sheet. Spread each sheet with the egg white and cocoa mixture, then sprinkle the coarsely chopped walnuts on top. 12. Roll each sheet as tightly as possible, then place the rolls in greased loaf pans or lined with parchment paper. 13. Cover the pans with a clean towel and let the sweet breads rise in the pans, in a warm place, until they exceed the edge of the pans. 14. Brush each sweet bread with a mixture of egg yolk and 1 teaspoon of milk. 15. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 40-45 minutes. The time may vary depending on the oven. Why I make this recipe often The sweet bread turns out fluffy and aromatic, with a texture that holds well for a few days. The rum flavor and the rich walnut filling make me return to this recipe, especially when I want a classic sweet bread with slight improvements. The sour cream truly adds something extra to the dough. Tips and Variations Tips A constant temperature during rising is crucial – if it’s cold in the kitchen, the dough rises more slowly. Do not add too much flour; let the dough remain soft, almost sticky, but still hold its shape. Measure the ingredients as accurately as possible, especially flour and liquids. Use flour with a good gluten content (I prefer country flour, but type 000 works too). Substitutions You can use dry yeast – about 16-18 g, but I prefer fresh yeast. If you don’t have sour cream, you can use full-fat yogurt, but the texture will be slightly different. If you don’t like rum essence, you can reduce the amount or replace it with vanilla, but it won’t have the same classic sweet bread flavor. Variations For the filling, you can also add raisins or a bit of Turkish delight, to taste. You can make smaller forms, like mini sweet breads or individual rolls, but reduce the baking time. If you want a richer sweet bread, add pieces of chocolate to the filling. Serving Ideas Cut into thick slices, it goes well with milk, coffee, or simply as a dessert for breakfast. It’s good both cold and slightly warmed. Frequently Asked Questions 1. Why do all the ingredients need to be at room temperature? It helps activate the yeast and homogenize the dough. The dough rises better, and the final texture is fluffier. 2. How do I know when to stop adding flour? When the dough becomes elastic and slightly sticky, stop adding flour. If it’s too stiff, the sweet bread will turn out dense. 3. What do I do if the dough doesn’t rise enough? Make sure it’s warm enough in the kitchen. You can move the bowl near a heat source or into a turned-off oven that’s slightly warmed. 4. Can I use a mixer with a hook for kneading? Yes, if you have a strong mixer, you can knead the dough for 10-15 minutes with a hook, but I’ve noticed that kneading by hand with oil gives a more traditional texture. 5. How long should I let the sweet bread cool before slicing it? Ideally, you should let it cool for at least 1-2 hours so it doesn’t crumble when sliced. Nutritional Values Approximately, a slice of sweet bread (about 100 g) has around 320-350 kcal, with 8-10 g of protein, 12-15 g of fat, and 45-50 g of carbohydrates. This varies depending on the filling and how thick the slices are. The calories mainly come from sugar, walnuts, and flour. Storage and Reheating The sweet bread keeps well for 2-3 days at room temperature, wrapped in paper or a clean towel, in a box or paper bag. Don’t store it in the fridge, or it will harden. To reheat, you can microwave it for 10-15 seconds or place it in a warm oven for a few minutes, but don’t leave it too long. If you want to keep it longer, it can be frozen in slices, separately wrapped.
Preparation
It is important to note that all ingredients should be kept at room temperature for at least 1 hour before starting their processing. The flour should be sifted into a bowl to become fluffy. In a bowl, we mix the yeast with a tablespoon of sugar until it liquefies, then add a little warm milk and a handful of flour. We mix everything well, cover the bowl, and let this starter rise in a warm place for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, we mix the egg yolks with half of the sugar (I ground it), some of the oil, and the sour cream. We will slightly heat the remaining milk and dissolve the rest of the sugar in it. We make a well in the center of the flour and pour the starter there, then the mixture of egg yolks with oil and sour cream, grated lemon and orange peel, rum essence, and we start incorporating the flour from the edges while occasionally adding warm milk. We reserve some oil for the end of the operation, and we will add the rest to the dough that is forming. When the dough becomes sticky, we stop adding flour. We grease the work surface with the reserved oil and turn the dough onto the surface. We start kneading while greasing the surface with oil until it is used up. The dough should be well greased, so if we place it on a sheet of paper, it should grease well. We put the dough back in the bowl, cover it, and let it rise in a warm place for about 30-40 minutes. For the filling, we mix the egg whites with sugar and a little salt, then add the cocoa and ground walnuts. We divide the dough into three parts, which we will roll out on the work surface with a rolling pin and spread with the egg white mixture, then sprinkle with chopped walnuts on top. We roll the sheets and place them in greased trays or lined with baking paper. We cover the dough in the trays and let them rise again until they exceed the edge of the tray, after which we brush the dough on top with egg yolk mixed with milk. We place the trays in the preheated oven and bake the loaves at 180 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or depending on each oven. Enjoy and good appetite! It is recommended that during the dough rising, the temperature in the working room should not drop. The amount of flour used varies depending on its type (I used country flour, freshly ground).
Tags
Categories
Appetizers
Beverages
Celebrity chefs
Chef in the city
Children
Coffee
Conserve
Cook and smile
Culinary Games
Culinary School
Dessert
Diverse
Doughs and pastries
Drinks
Fish
Healthy Delights
International
Jakob Hausmann
Jam
Jamie Oliver
Meat
Miscellaneous
Over
Pasta/Pizza
Pickles
Plague
Salad
Sandwiches
Sauces
Savory
Season
Sezon
Slow cooking
Soups
Star Recipe
Syrup
Translated
Various
Vegan
