Kulich is the main decoration of the Easter table. I want to cook it myself, but it does not always work out. Sometimes the Easter cake fails or does not rise, comes out small or falls out of shape, burns or remains moist inside. What mistakes do housewives most often make during cooking?
Mistake One: Much Muffin
Why are purchased Easter cakes magnificent and airy, and home analogs are often dense and heavy? It's all about the amount of muffin. The more sugar and fat in the dough, the more difficult it is for the yeast to lift it, the baking is harder, the porosity is finer. The main mistake is to try to make a very sweet Easter cake. The result is a heavy, rough, hard bread, albeit with good taste. It turns out that manufacturers do not save at all, but strictly follow the recipe.
Secrets of a magnificent and high Easter cake:
- sugar and butter must be laid strictly according to the recipe;
- butter dough needs more time to rise, the process can take up to 5-6 hours;
- it is better to prepare the dough for Easter cakes in the sparse way;
- You can increase the amount of yeast by 20-25%.
No need to worry that you will get fresh cake. Raisins, candied fruits and other dried fruits will give additional sweetness, there will also be a lot of sugar in the icing on the hat.
Mistake two: consistency test
Easter cakes are not dumplings. No need to make a cool and tough dough filled with flour. If, in addition, there will be a lot of muffin in it (see above), then instead of air cakes, you will get sweet bricks. Also, do not make batter, otherwise it will not turn out to be a beautiful rounded hat, and after baking large voids of the “tunnels” may form inside, the cake will fail.
What should be the consistency of the test? The ideal option is a slightly sticky, slightly sprawling mass on the table, from which you can roll a soft ball.
Third mistake: a lot or few candied fruits, raisins and other dried fruits
Here the situation is the same as with baking. If you add too much raisins, nuts, candied fruits to the dough for Easter cakes, then it will turn out to be difficult, it will be difficult for yeast to raise all this. The likelihood that the cake is simply not baked inside increases. You can add less, but I don’t really want to look for raisins in a dough with a magnifying glass, but this is a festive and rich pastry.
What you need to know about raisins and dried fruits:
- 1 kg of liquid in the test is 1 kg of raisins;
- raisins and other dried fruits do not need to be added to the dough, they are laid at the very end of the batch;
- for even distribution, mix the additives with part of the flour.
If the raisins are initially very dry and hard, then it is recommended to soak them a little, then dry, sprinkle or mix with flour, only then put into an almost ready dough.
Fourth error: little or much test in the form
Kulich, which does not have a hat, does not look very beautiful, especially in disposable paper molds. But too big pink mushrooms are not needed either. How much to lay the test?
According to the rules, the forms are filled by a third. But, if you want to get a rounded hat over the mold, then you can safely lay up to half. That is, lumps of dough of 90-110 grams are put in 0.2-liter cups, about 250 grams of dough in 0.4-0.5 liters.
Fifth error: crooked pinkish
To make the Easter cake smooth with a beautiful rounded top, you do not just need to tear off the dough and toss it into a mold. The piece should be properly prepared.
How to make a cake:
- Cut the right amount of dough. Gather the edges into a knot so that it looks like a ball.
- Lubricate hands and countertops with a little oil., put the piece with the smooth side up and with two hands, rolling movements slightly round.
- Transfer the resulting ball to the prepared form.
When cutting the dough, it is recommended to use scales so that all the cakes are the same size, evenly rise and bake.
Sixth error: insufficient rise
No need to rush to put cakes in the oven. Yes, they will rise a little when they get into the oven, but they can tear on the sides, small tears will appear around the cap that will not be fried. Sometimes an insufficiently raised cake is very torn in the oven, it falls on one side, becomes crooked, the shape suffers.
Before boiling in the oven, the dough should increase at least twice, preferably 2.5-3 times. If the form was half filled, then the crown should look at least 0.5 cm out of it, if it gets into a hot oven it will “grow up” by a couple of centimeters.
Seventh mistake: arrangement and baking of cakes
To bake cakes from all sides, it is important to place them at a sufficient distance between each other. No need to tightly place on a baking sheet, otherwise the inner molds will remain raw. The optimal distance between the glasses of 0.2-0.3 liters is about ten centimeters.
If large cakes of 0.4-0.5 kg are baked, then you should not send more than three pieces to the oven at the same time. You also need to carefully monitor the temperature. On average, sweet and pastry dough is planted at 240 degrees, baked at 200 degrees. If the cakes are quickly fried, then the temperature can be reduced to 180.
Other mistakes cooking holiday cake
- Shake, shake. Yeast dough does not like hesitation, you need to work with it carefully, especially after rising in molds. Cups with Easter cakes should be put on a baking sheet in advance so as not to touch it again, send to the oven slowly and carefully, without unnecessary movements.
- Cold oven. Easter cakes should be put in a preheated oven, otherwise they will dry faster than the desired temperature is reached.
- Dry the crust? There should be no drafts in the room. If a crust appears on the finished dough, then you can cover the cups with Easter cakes with a light cloth, gauze or lightly sprinkle with warm water from the spray bottle.
- We put many forms at the same time. The temperature in the oven will drop, it will rise slowly, cakes will not bake.
- Average level. A baking sheet with filled forms must be placed in the lower third of the oven, otherwise the dough will burn from above.
In the end
Easter cake differs from other baking with a smart crown. Therefore, pay attention not only to the test, but also to the glaze. It should not crumble, turn yellow, stick or crumble when cutting cake. It is also important to use attractive sprinkles. In addition to purchased dragees and candied fruits, you can decorate the top with figures made of mastic or marzipan. Let home-made cakes differ from those sold in the store, please not only with taste, but also with an attractive look.
