Cozonac

Where else but Romania would you find a recipe for something with a prep time of one hour forty-five minutes and a cooking time of one hour, yet, in the actual recipe there is a wait time of 2-3 hours? Gotta love it. Here is the recipe for the famous Romanian Panetone that I have in a book by Nicolae Keppler called, Taste of Romania. If you make it, I hope you enjoy it. My first Christmas in Romania, I ate gobs and gobs of this stuff and even though I thought I might burst, I enjoyed every bite.

5 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 oz. yeast*
1/2 cup milk
8 egg yolks, for the dough
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
8 oz. raisins
grated rind of 1 lemon
7 cups all purpose flour
8 oz. butter, melted
2 tbsp. dark rum
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. cooking oil
2 egg yolks, for glaze
2 tbsp. cold water
2 oz. walnuts, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup powder sugar (optional)

Makes enough for one 9 x 5 x 3 in. loaf pan, and one 9 in. round cake pan.
Preparation time: 1 hour, 45 minutes, not counting standing time., cooking time: 1 hour

• In a small bowl, put 5 tbsp. flour.
• In a small kettle, h eat 3/4 cup milk to boiling. Stir it into the 5 tbsps. Flour, and beat with wooden spoon until the mixture becomes a smooth paste without lumps. Let cool about 10 minutes.
• In the same kettle, heat another 3/4 cup milk until it is just lukewarm. If it gets hot, let it cool down, as hot milk will kill yeast. In a small bowl, pour the lukewarm milk over the yeast. Crumble the yeast with a spoon, and stir until it is completely dissolved.
• Add the yeast mixture to the flour paste, and beat with a fork or wire whisk until large air bubbles appear. Cover the bowl with a cloth and keep near a source of warmth, such as a radiator or on the stove if other food is cooking. Allow the mixture to rise (at least 15 min.)
• In the same kettle, heat the rest of the mild until it is lukewarm. Do not overheat.
• Warm a large bowl to room temperature. Pour lukewarm milk into the bowl. While you start the dough, keep the bowl warm. Add, one by one, in this sequence: first the 8 egg yolks; stir with the wooden spoon; then the superfine sugar, and raisins, followed by lemon rind, the yeast mixture, and finally the rest of the flour. At first, continue to use the wooden spoon to stir, pushing the dough inward from the edges of the bowl. Then start kneading the dough with buttered hands.
• Keep kneading the dough energetically. From time to time, add a bit of melted butter. After kneading about 15-20 minutes, the dough will begin to detach itself from your hands and bowl. Use just enough butter to free the dough completely from your hands and form a moist, pliable ball. It will probably take about 6 oz. Save the rest.
• Wash your hands to remove the rest of any sticky dough. Then add the rum, vanilla, and oil. Continue to knead the dough for another 2-3 minutes. Cover the bowl with a cloth and, if possible, also warm a blanket or towel. Keep in a warm area for 2-3 hours. Yeast grows best at a temperature of 80-85 degrees F. Check after two hours. The dough should rise to double the original size.
• Punch the dough down with your fist, then with your hands dipped in melted butter, knead the dough for another 5-10 minutes.
• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Keep your hands lubricated with butter and butter deep baking tins. It doesn’t really matter what shape they are. Twist big pieces of the dough several times, and place in the baking pans so to fill them not more than one half of their height. Then cover the tins with a cloth and blanket. Keep in a warm place and let stand another 1-1 1/2 hours. The dough will rise to the top of the pans.
• Mix the remaining egg yolks with 2 tbsps. Cold water, and brush the top of the dough with a pastry brush. Sprinkle walnuts and a few raisins on the dough. Bake for one hour, or until a knife plunged through the middle of the cake comes out clean and dry.
• Remove cakes from the pans, cool on wire racks away from drafts. If you wish, while the cakes are still hot, you can sprinkle them with confectioners sugar or walnuts, or both.