Making Vánočka – Czech Sweet Braided Bread

For some reason, the holidays always remind me of home (home being Prague). Maybe it’s because I associate the delicious foods with my grandmother who was always baking at this time of year. Thankfully, Jillian Greer has come to visit and she shared her awesome recipe for making Vánočka, a traditional Czech Sweet Braided Bread from her awesome cookbook, Elegant Holiday Desserts 50 Recipes to Dress Your Table and Impress Your Guests.

I highly recommend this to anyone who loves to create tasty desserts for friends and family especially during the holidays. Jillian got this recipe from her grandmother and it is BoHo approved!

Ingredients…

2 packages of active dry yeast
1 cup of sugar, divided in half
1/2 cup of heavy cream
8 cups of flour
1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
zest of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp. of sea salt
1 tsp. of nutmeg
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 cups of milk, warmed
1 cup of chopped blanched almonds
1 cup of golden raisins, plumped in warm water and drained

Instructions…

In a large bowl, combine the yeast, 1 Tbsp. of sugar, and heavy cream together. Set aside until the yeast begins to bubble, about 5 minutes.

In another bowl, rub the butter into the flour using your fingers. Once combined, add the lemon zest and work into the flour/butter mixture using your fingers. Add the nutmeg and sea salt and stir to combine.

Using a wooden spoon, stir the eggs, egg yolks, remaining sugar, and milk into the yeast mixture. Add the flour mixture and stir thoroughly….

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