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Cooking
Easter Classic: Fragrant Mazanec Bread
· 8 servings
Yeast starter
Warm the milk until just lukewarm. Stir in 1 tablespoon of sugar and crumble in the yeast. Leave it in a warm spot until bubbles start forming on the surface. That's your sign the yeast is ready to use.
Dough
Mix the flour with a pinch of salt, lemon zest and caster sugar. Pour in the milk with the yeast, add the melted and cooled shortening, crack in the eggs, then add the almonds and raisins. Mix by hand or with a stand mixer until the dough is smooth, soft and no longer sticky.
Let it rise
Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave it to rise in a warm place for about an hour.
Brush with egg and sprinkle with almonds
Preheat the oven to 190 °C. Shape the dough into a neat round loaf and place it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with almond flakes. Put it into the preheated oven.
Lower the temperature
After ten minutes of baking, lower the temperature to 150 °C and continue baking for about an hour. Every oven is different, so keep an eye on the mazanec to make sure it doesn't burn. It's done when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, with no raw dough sticking to it.
Let it cool
Let it cool completely before slicing.