, region = Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova , creator = , course = Dessert , type = Yeast cake , served = , main_ingredient =

Wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bread ...

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

, sugar,

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

, dried fruit, nuts, citrus peel, flavorings like vanilla or rum , variations = , calories = , other = ''Cozonac'' () or ''Kozunak'' ( bg, козунак ) is a special sweet leavened bread, traditional to Southeastern Europe,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, etc. Rich in eggs, milk and butter, it is usually prepared for

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

in Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, and in Romania and Moldova it is also traditional for Good Friday. The name comes from the

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

word for hair-коса/kosa, or el, κοσωνάκι, translit=kosōnáki, a diminutive form of el, κοσώνα, label=none, translit=kosṓna. Cozonac was the sweet chosen to represent Romania in the

Café Europe Café Europe, Café d'Europe or also Café Europa was a cultural initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, held on Europe Day (9 May 2006) in 27 cafés of the capitals of the then 25 EU member states and the two countries whi ...

initiative of the Austrian presidency of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, on Europe Day 2006.

Origins

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, the first recipe of "cozonac" appears in a cookbook in 1718, with the recommendation to be baked in long and narrow forms, a recommendation that remains valid nowadays. A similar Italian dessert, Panettone, whose recipe was shared and adapted in Eastern Europe following the Roman occupation, is often mentioned as a starting point for the cozonac. Romanians added cocoa, rum, walnuts and Turkish delight to the composition, thus creating an original version of the dish, which was not to be missed from any Easter or Christmas table for hundreds of years and is widely recognised as a traditional dessert. Today, this dessert with a long history is prepared mainly in southeastern European countries, especially in North Macedonia, Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria, where it is considered a traditional food.

Ingredients and preparation

''Cozonac'' is a sweet bread, into which

, sugar,

, and other ingredients are mixed together and allowed to rise before baking. In Bulgaria, the ''kozunak'' is prepared by adding lemon zest to the dough mixture, just as the Romanian version. In North Macedonia, the Macedonians for Easter traditionally bake a sweet bread called with sultanas and raisins in the shape of a girl's plated hair, a braid. That is why the name of this traditional Easter bread is derived from the Bulgarian word for hair-коса/kosa. There is also the straw plated mat Macedonians in the past used to lay on the ground to sleep upon called Rogozina or Ruguzina. In Romania, the recipes for trimmings differ rather significantly between regions. The dough is essentially similar throughout the country; a plain sweet bread made from flour, eggs, milk, butter, sugar and salt. Depending on the region, one may add to it any of the following:

raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the ...

s, grated

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

zest,

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

s or hazelnuts, and

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

flavor. Cozonac may be sprinkled with poppy seeds on top. Other styles dictate the use of a filling, usually a ground walnut mixture with ground poppy seeds, cocoa powder, rum essence, or raisins. The dough is rolled flat with a pin, the filling is spread and the whole is rolled back into a shape vaguely resembling a pinwheel. In the baked product, the filling forms a swirl adding to the character of the bread.

Similar breads

Cozonac is a sweet, egg-enriched bread, which is rooted in the cuisines of

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

.''Толковìй словарь живаго великорусскаго язîка'', Dal' V.I., IAS, 1869 Examples of similar breads from other cultures include ''badnji kruh'' in

Croatian cuisine Croatian cuisine is heterogeneous and is known as a cuisine of the regions, since every region of Croatia has its own distinct culinary tradition. Its roots date back to ancient times. The differences in the selection of foodstuffs and forms of co ...

, ''folar de páscoa'' in

Portuguese cuisine The oldest known book on Portuguese cuisine, entitled ''Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal'', from the 16th century, describes many popular dishes of meat, fish, poultry and others. ''Culinária Portuguesa'', by António-Maria De O ...

brioche Brioche (, also , , ) is a bread of French origin whose high egg and butter content gives it a rich and tender crumb. Chef Joël Robuchon described it as "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and e ...

in French cuisine,

kulich Kulich, be, куліч, kulich, hy, կուլիչ, kulich (from Ancient Greek , , "roll of coarse bread"); ka, პასკა, paska, uk, пáска, páska is the Russian name for Easter bread. For the Eastern Slavs, festive bread was r ...

in Russian cuisine,

panettone Panettone (, ; lmo, label= Milanese, panetton ) is an Italian type of sweet bread, and fruitcake, originally from Milan, usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Western, Southern, and Southeastern Europe as well as in South ...

in Italian cuisine,

hot cross bun A hot cross bun is a spiced sweet bun usually made with fruit, marked with a cross on the top, and has been traditionally eaten on Good Friday in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, India, Pakistan an ...

in English cuisine,

challah Challah (, he, חַלָּה or ; plural: or ) is a special bread of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat and major Jewish holidays (other than Passover). Ritually acceptable ch ...

in Jewish cuisine, or stollen in German cuisine. Such rich brioche-like breads are also traditional in other countries, such as Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Origins

Ingredients and preparation

Similar breads

See also

Notes and references

External links