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Vasilopita Bread Recipe
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4.67 from 3 votes

Greek Vasilopita Bread Recipe

Greek Vasilopita is a New Year Bread. This sweet bread is made during the New Year Time. The hidden coin inside the bread is supposed to bring good luck for the person who gets it. Vasilopita bread is also known as Saint Basil's Good Luck Bread.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time2 hours 15 minutes
Course: Main Course, Traditional
Cuisine: Greek
Servings: 1 Loaf

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a jar, add lukewarm milk, sugar, and yeast. Stir it and let it rest for 5 min.
  • In another bowl add flour, orange zest, salt and activated yeast solution.
  • Start binding the flour using a wooden spoon Add olive oil and mix.
  • Take the dough out of dusted counter and knead it for 5-7 minutes or until it becomes smooth.
  • Once kneading is done, keep the dough in a greased bowl and cover it with clean kitchen towel.
  • Let the dough rest until it becomes double.
  • When dough doubles, punch it to release the air and shape it into a boule.
  • Place the shaped dough boule into a greased 8” round pan.
  • Cover it with kitchen towel and let it rest until doubles again.
  • Meanwhile keep the oven for preheating at 200 °C.
  • Using a sharp razor or knife, make the pattern of your choice of dough and brush it with milk. Decorate it with different seeds.
  • Bake the bread in preheated oven for 30 min.
  • After 30 minutes, take the bread out from oven.
  • Demold the bread and using a knife make a cut on the bottom of the bread to insert coin into bread.
  • Let the bread rest on cooling rack minimum for 2 hrs before serving.

Notes

  1. Every ingredient in the recipe and its quantity has its own significance. Do not alter them.
  2. This recipe is a tried and tested recipe. Substitute the ingredient/s only at your own risk.
  3. You can adjust the servings of this recipe in the “Recipe Card” and all the ingredients and their measurement will automatically adjust.
  4. To knead the dough you can use a combination of milk+ water as well.
  5. Instead of using orange zest, you can add lemon zest.
  6. If you want to add eggs then for the given measurements of the ingredients, use 2 eggs of medium size (approx. weight should be 52 gm each).
  7. Pattern and seeds are optional.
  8. In case you feel your dough is too wet to handle then add 50 gm flour.
  9. In case your dough is too dry and hard then add extra liquid accordingly.
  10. Baking time can vary oven to oven. So keep an eye.