Pomynalnyi Kalach (поминальний калач, memorial ring bread)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl or stand mixer
• •Baking tray lined with parchment
• •Small ovenproof jar, ramekin, or metal cutter for the center
• •Pastry brush
• •Clean linen cloth for wrapping

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the dough

   In a large bowl, stir the warm milk with the yeast, sugar, eggs, vanilla if using, and lemon zest if using. Add the flour and salt, then mix until you have a rough, shaggy dough with no dry patches hiding at the bottom. Let it sit for ten minutes so the flour drinks properly before you ask anything serious of it.

   Warm milk means body-warm, not hot. If it feels sharp against your finger, it will be sharp to the yeast too.
2. 2

   Knead in butter

   Work the softened butter into the dough a little at a time. It will smear, sulk, and look briefly like a mistake. Keep going. Knead until the dough turns smooth, elastic, and lightly tacky, pulling away from the bowl or worktop in long stretchy sheets rather than tearing at once.

3. 3

   Let it rise

   Set the dough in a lightly buttered bowl, cover it, and leave it somewhere warm until it has grown full and airy, usually one and a half to two hours. Press it gently with a floured finger. If the dent fills back slowly, the dough is ready; if it springs back like it has been insulted, give it more time.

4. 4

   Divide and plait

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope, about 55 to 60 cm, keeping the thickness even from end to end. Plait the ropes firmly but not tightly, then bring the two ends together into a ring and pinch them well underneath so the join disappears.

5. 5

   Keep the ring

   Move the kalach onto a lined baking tray. Butter the outside of a small ovenproof jar, ramekin, or metal cutter and set it in the center to keep the hole open as the dough rises. Cover loosely and leave until puffy, light, and almost doubled; when you touch the braid, it should wobble slightly and keep a soft dent.

   This is the step that won't forgive neglect. Without a center support, an enriched braid can rise shut, and then the bread loses the shape that carries its meaning.
6. 6

   Glaze and bake

   Brush the kalach gently with the egg yolk and milk glaze, getting into the curves of the braid without flattening them. Scatter sesame or poppy seeds if you like. Bake at 180C until the crust is deep golden, the sides feel set, and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about thirty to thirty-five minutes.

7. 7

   Cool and carry

   Lift out the center support while the bread is still warm enough to move but not so hot that it tears. Cool the kalach on a rack until the crust settles and the crumb finishes itself inside. Wrap it in a clean cloth for carrying, then serve in generous slices or broken pieces at the table.

Chef Tips

• •Do not add flour every time the dough sticks. Butter-rich dough begins messy and becomes obedient with kneading; too much flour makes the crumb tight.
• •If your kitchen is cold, let the dough rise inside the switched-off oven with the light on. Watch the dough, not the clock.
• •The lemon zest and vanilla are a bit more modern in some families, plain in others. Keep the dough gently sweet either way; this is memorial bread, not cake.
• •A stand mixer is useful here, but hands do the job beautifully. My hands remember dough better than machines do.
• •Bake it the day before Proviody if you need to travel early. Once cool, wrap it in linen or a clean tea towel, then keep it at room temperature.

Advance Preparation

• •The dough can rise slowly overnight in the fridge after kneading. Bring it back toward room temperature before shaping, until it feels pliable under your hands.
• •The baked kalach keeps well for 24 hours wrapped in a clean cloth. For the softest crumb, bake the day before or the morning you serve it.
• •Leftover slices toast beautifully with butter and honey, though after a memorial table there are rarely many leftovers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 80g)