Baked Easter Birds

Let's bake Easter birds from sweet yeast dough! They look wonderful on the festive table and taste just as delightful.

Course Sweet Bread

Cuisine Czech

Keyword Czech Easter Pastry

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

Rising time 2 30

Total Time 3 5

Servings birds

Calories 305kcal

Author Petra Kupská

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour plus a small handful to flour the work surface
1 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
⅓ cup granulated sugar
½ stick unsalted butter
½ cup lukewarm milk
1 egg yolk
1 Tablespoon lemon zest freshly grated (of about one small lemon)
⅛ teaspoon salt

Misc.:

1 egg white for egg brush
12 small raisins for bird's eyes
6 almonds for bird's beak

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Stir 1 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast and a teaspoon of granulated sugar into ½ cup lukewarm milk. Leave in a warm place for about 10-15 minutes until a bubbly foam appears on the surface of the milk.
Heat ½ stick unsalted butter in the microwave for 30 seconds until melted, but not hot. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Add 1 egg yolk, the rest of ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon lemon zest, and melted butter. Finally, pour in the milk mixture with the activated yeast.
Make the dough: First, roughly mix all the ingredients in the bowl with a fork. Then transfer the mixture onto a work surface, keeping a small handful of flour aside. Use your hands to process the dough, kneading it thoroughly until it becomes smooth and elastic. This will take about five minutes, so be prepared for some physical effort! If the dough is too sticky, dip it in the reserved flour and continue working it in.
Return the dough to the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and place it in a warm spot to rise for about 1½ hours. The dough should nearly double in volume.
Knead the dough briefly with your hands and divide it into six equal parts. Roll each piece into a strand about one inch (2.5 cm) thick and nine to ten inches (22-25 cm) long.
Make a knot from the strand: Place one end of the strand over the center to create an opening. Push the same end through the hole so that a bit sticks out, forming the tail of the bird. Turn the knot over, and the other end will create the bird's head.
Now we have a knot (the bird's body) with the head side up on the work surface. Use the tines of a fork to flatten the tail and create decorative notches at the same time.
Carefully transfer the birds to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Stick two small raisins onto the sides of the head for eyes, pressing them firmly to prevent them from being pushed out as the dough rises. At the spot where the head touches the body, insert a small piece of almond deeply to form a beak.
Cover the birds with a clean tea towel and let them rise in a warm place for another hour. If the dough strands have deformed while shaping the birds, they will smooth out during this second rise.
Preheat the oven to 350 °F and set it to upper and lower heat. Brush the bird thoroughly with 1 egg white leftover from making the dough. Bake the birds for 15 minutes.

Notes

The basic recipe makes 6 Easter birds.
SERVING: Czechs bake the birds the day before Easter Monday, the most important day of the Czech Easter. Arrange the baked birds on a festive platter and place it on the Easter table.
STORAGE: Easter birds are beautifully soft and springy on the day of baking. They will keep for about five days at room temperature. Once cooled, place them in a plastic bag or airtight container.
Sometimes, raisins fall out of the bird's head during baking. If this happens to you, at the end of baking, carefully brush the raisin holes with egg white (some leftover from the egg brush) and reinsert the raisins where they fell out. Place briefly in the oven; the egg white will glue the raisins to the dough.
Forming a knot requires a little practice. Try tying the strand of dough a few times until you get a result you're happy with. Even if the bird isn't the perfect shape after baking, it will always taste wonderful!

Nutrition