Easter kulich

Kulich, or as it is more often called in our country - paska, is a kind of festive pastry, which is prepared on the Bright Sunday of Christ. They are baked with a lot of goodness: eggs, butter, raisins, so they are very sweet, hearty and tasty. Every housewife has her own recipe for kulich, but I want to share the recipe my mom uses to bake them.

Composition:

• milk - 0.5 liters
• flour - about 1.5 kg
• salt - 1,5 - 2 tsp.
• sugar - 350 gr.
• vanilla sugar - 3 packs
• raisins - 300 gr.
• eggs - 5 pcs.
• butter - 250 gr.
• sour cream - 100 gr.
• dry yeast - 3 packs of 11 g (according to the yeast instructions)
• vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. + for greasing the molds
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Preparation of Easter kulich:

Sift the flour to enrich it with oxygen.
Rinse the raisins and pour boiling water over them for 5-10 minutes. Then dry the raisins and roll them in flour.
Heat milk to a temperature of about 37 degrees (it should be warm, but not hot).
Pour the milk into a bowl, pour in about 250 grams of flour, add the yeast, 1 tbsp of sugar and mix and let stand for the yeast to start "working" about 15 minutes. When the yeast has started to foam, mix again and add all the other ingredients (add the flour gradually).

Knead the dough well, and when the dough starts to stick well to your hands, add sunflower oil, knead again, cover with a napkin and put it in a warm place so that it increases in volume.

Knead the risen dough with your hands soaked in sunflower oil. Repeat this procedure 2 or 3 times.

*** Stores sell special paper molds for baking kulichi, but I bake them like my grandmother and mother - in tin cans left over from canned foods: condensed milk, peas, etc.

Grease the molds with sunflower oil and place circles cut out of baking paper on the bottom to make it easier to remove the Easter eggs.
After the dough has risen again, knead it well again and spread it into the prepared molds. The dough should occupy one third of the volume of the mold.

Place the molds in a warm place, cover with a napkin and let the dough rise well.

If desired, the kulichi can be brushed with beaten egg before sending them to the oven.
Bake the kulichi in a preheated oven at 180 degrees until ready. Baking time depends on the size of the mold. I have small molds bake for 35-40 minutes, and large ones (in a fully metal pan) - 1.5 hours.
If you wish, you can sprinkle the finished kulichi with powdered sugar, smear with whipped proteins or sprinkle with special colorful sprinkles.