April 23, 2001

Kulich - Sweetbread Recipe


Kulich - Sweetbread Recipe

Russian Sweetbread
Makes three large or six small loaves; 24 servings

Ingredients

5 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 pkgs. dry yeast
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs at room temp.
1/2 cup citron
3/4 cup chopped, toasted almonds

Preparation

1. In large bowl, blend 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast and salt. Heat milk, water and butter until warm (120º to 130ºF). Gradually add mixture to remaining dry ingredients. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer. Add eggs and beat at high speed 2 minutes. Stir in almonds, citron and enough flour, as needed, to make a soft dough.
2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. Place dough in large, greased bowl, turning dough to grease top. Cover; let rise in warm, place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Divide dough into 3 equal pieces. Shape each into ball; place in 3 greased 16-ounce coffee cans. Or, divide dough into 6 pieces, shape into balls and place in 6 greased 11-ounce soup cans. Cover; let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes (small cans) or 1 hour (large cans).
4. Preheat oven to 350ºF; bake small loaves for 30 minutes and 35 minutes for large loaves. Remove loaves from cans and place on their sides on wire racks to cool. Top with Almond Frosting.

Almond Frosting
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955