Cozonac

Cozonac with raisins, wove and sprinkled with sugar.

Kozunak as prepared in Bulgaria for orthodox Easter

Cozonac (Romanian pronunciation: [kozoˈnak]) or Kozunak (Bulgarian: козунак) is a traditional Bulgarian, Romanian and Albanian sweet bread. It is usually prepared for Easter in Bulgaria and Albania, and mostly for every major holiday (Christmas, Easter, New Year, Pentecost) in Romania.

Cozonac is a sweet bread, to which milk, sugar, eggs, butter and raisins are added. In Bulgaria, the kozunak is prepared by adding lemon zest to the dough mixture. The Italian Panettone is very similar to the basic cozonac, the most visible difference being their shapes.

In Romania, the recipes differ rather significantly between regions in what concerns the trimmings. The dough is essentially similar throughout the country: a plain sweet bread made with flour, eggs, milk, butter, sugar and salt. Depending on the region, one may add to it any of the following: raisins, Lokum (Türk Lokumu), grated orange or lemon rind, walnuts or hazelnuts, vanilla or rum flavour. Cozonac may be sprinkled with poppy seeds on top. Other styles dictate the use of a filling, usually a ground walnut mix, cocoa powder, rum essence and raisins. The dough is rolled flat with a pin, the filling is spread and the whole is rolled back into a shape vaguely resembling a pinwheel. In the baked product the filling forms a swirl adding to the character of the bread.

It was the sweet chosen to represent Romania in the Café Europe initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, on Europe Day 2006.

See also

• Lokum
• Babka
• Brioche
• Challah
• Stollen

External links

• Romanian Cozonac or Colac - a Christmas Bread, a cozonac recipe
• Cozonac recipes and more
• Cozonac Rosenkrantz