When the loaf is baked. We prepare the wedding loaf according to the recipe and decorate it correctly. Jewelry and its meaning

Bread has always had a special meaning in Rus'. It is with the large round loaf of bread, which was often baked for holidays and important events, that many rites and rituals are associated. Loaves of bread were used to greet and see off dear guests, and the most magnificent and skillfully decorated loaves of bread were the main treat at weddings.

The history of the origin of the loaf in Rus'

The custom of serving special pastries at weddings originated with the ancient Slavs. In Ancient Rus', bread was considered a great gift from the earth's nurse, and the sun was the main patron. Therefore, the predecessor of the holiday loaf was round like the sun and symbolized fertility, abundance and prosperity.

Origin of the word "Loaf"

There are several assumptions about the origin of the name of ritual bread in Rus'. The most common of them comes down to the fact that the word “loaf” comes from the word “cow”, which in Slavic dialects means “bride”. And the suffix “ay” in the word is a symbol of a bull, that is, a man. Thus, the loaf personified fertility, the unity of the feminine and masculine principles.

Traditions of baking a loaf in Rus'

Baking a loaf was accompanied by a certain sequence of rituals. Loaf makers were invited to make holiday bread - women who were happily married and had healthy, obedient children. While preparing holiday bread, the loaf makers passed on their experience to the young people and shared their family happiness. And a married man had to put the bread in the oven. During all these rituals, special songs and prayers were sung to receive God's blessing to the young.

The size of the loaf was also of great importance, as it personified the status of the emerging family. The desire to prepare the largest and tallest ritual bread often resulted in having to remove several rows of bricks from the oven in order to get the baked loaf. In addition to various dough patterns, the finished treat was decorated with ears of wheat and bunches of viburnum. This decor was symbolic and meant family well-being, harmony and love.

Traditionally, baking a loaf in Rus' was preceded by some event. This bread was baked only on special occasions, most often for weddings or to welcome long-awaited guests. Hospitable hosts always greeted their dear guests with bread and salt. Often it was a rye loaf with salt, which was presented on a towel.

Wedding traditions undergo some changes over time, but the tradition of presenting a festive loaf of bread to the newlyweds on their wedding day remains unchanged.

The word “loaf” carries the name of a special ritual bread, primarily wedding bread. The ritual of offering a loaf of bread to young people is widely known in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

A round loaf with various decorations represented the sun back in pre-Christian Rus'.

The loaf, as a symbol of happiness in family life and fertility, also represents the end of single life.

Tradition of loaf baking

Baking a loaf has always been surrounded by various rules and rituals. Only married women with strong families with children were allowed to prepare a loaf for a wedding.

It was believed that through the warmth of their hands, women convey their experience, family life and happiness to the young family. During work, prayers were read and songs were sung.

Once prepared, a good wedding loaf could be so large and heavy that several donors had to carry it.

Saturday was considered the correct day to bake a loaf of bread. On the day off, the women who participated in the baking of bread came to the house with everything they needed.

Previously, special archaic devices were used for baking, for example, ritual millstones were used to grind flour. Today, weddings are celebrated throughout the week, so the rituals of baking a loaf are not observed.

Baking a wedding loaf at home is also a rarity; not everyone has ovens for baking such large bread. At the same time, pastry shops offer a large selection of beautiful and tasty loaves.

Only loving grandmothers of young people, who often pay tribute to traditions, are happy to present traditional holiday bread, made with love with their own hands.

Loaf at home

Today there are many different flavoring types of loaf. Loaves are baked with lemon zest, poppy seeds, jam and even mastic, which is popular today.

Next we will tell you how you can bake a traditional wedding loaf at home. In order to make a classic kalach, you first need to prepare all the ingredients. We need yeast, eggs, butter, salt, flour, sugar, and favorite spices.

In order to diversify the taste of the loaf, you can put some dried fruits in the dough. Dried apricots, raisins, or nuts will go very well with baked sweet bread.

In order for the loaf to turn out good and tasty, you must bake it in a good mood. All the emotions that a person experiences while doing such work are then passed on to those who will certainly try the bread.

Preparing the dough

Pour a glass of milk (you can also use water) into a container. The liquid does not need to be heated too much; it should be at normal room temperature, not boiling water.

Next you need to add flour to the container. If you have a sieve, you need to use it and sift a glass of flour. The dough should not be liquid. In order for the dough to brew well, you need to leave it to “rest.” An hour is enough time to continue working with the dough.

After an hour, the dough needs to be taken out; by this time it should have risen. Now we need to slightly heat the dough in a bowl of warm water.

Preparing the dough

The next step is to prepare the dough for the loaf.

Take ten eggs and separate the yolks. We will put one yolk aside; we will need it for greasing the loaf. The yolks need to be thoroughly ground with sugar. 150 grams of sugar will be enough for this. The ground yolks now need to be poured into the dough.

The next step is to add 6-7 cups of flour to the bowl. The whites that we had earlier must be beaten with a mixer. Next we need 100 g of butter. If you have vegetable oil, you can add it; otherwise, you can melt the butter in a water bath.

We must now add all these ingredients to a container with flour and add a little salt.

After all the ingredients are mixed, the dough needs to be kneaded well for about half an hour. The finished dough should not stick to your hands; to do this, add another half a glass of flour when kneading.

At the last stage, the dough is transferred to another container in which it should stand for several hours. After the time has passed, the dough must be kneaded well and still allowed to rise.

Baking a loaf

When the dough for the loaf has come up, it’s time to bake it. The total weight of the loaf is about 2 kilograms. In order to form a beautiful loaf, you need to divide the dough into parts.

First you need to separate half a kilogram of dough for future decoration. Decoration is a must-have attribute for a festive look. Form the remaining dough into a ball.

To prevent the dough from sticking to the baking sheet, you need to cover it with parchment. After this, place the dough on paper. To prevent the dough from drying out, it must be moistened with water. This must be done throughout the baking of the wedding loaf.

Now preheat the oven, 200 degrees is the optimal temperature for baking. Decorations are made from the dough that has been set aside, which must also be moistened with water so that they do not dry out.

We carefully attach the decor to the loaf so as not to crush the shaped dough. Next, you need to mix a tablespoon of water with the yolk and lubricate the surface of the product well. This way the crust of the loaf will be shiny and rosy.

The bread should be placed in the oven and baked for an hour. When the dough is well browned, cover the loaf with foil. This is necessary so that it does not dry out in the oven.

Under no circumstances should you open the oven while the loaf is baking. Then the loaf will not settle and will be tall.

When the bread is completely cooked, open the oven to let the hot air out and let the product stand for a little longer. Twenty minutes is enough.

Now that the loaf is finally ready, put it on a nice cloth or napkin and leave it overnight. It will be delicious in the morning.

Decorating the loaf

A traditional loaf definitely needs to be decorated. This way the appearance of the loaf will be more festive and elegant.

Today you can find many different ways to decorate and photograph a wedding loaf with different decor. But there are traditional designs and patterns for decoration, which we will describe below.

It should also be said that there are two ways to decorate a wedding loaf. We have described a method in which all decorations are attached to the loaf before baking in the oven.

You can also attach all the decorations when the loaf is ready. In order for the figures to hold well, you need to attach them about 15 minutes before the product is completely ready. This way the decorations will have clear shapes.

Good durable decorations can also be made from more pliable shortbread or unleavened dough.

Recipes for a wedding loaf can be very different; you can choose a recipe for baking that will include several types of dough. You can decorate the loaf with various dough designs.

A symbol of fertility, ears of wheat are made from a piece of dough that is rolled into a tight rope. We make one end wide - this will be a spikelet, and the other thin - this will form a stem. This decor is laid in a circle, and then the grains are drawn on the wide part of the piece of dough using scissors.

The traditional decor for loaves is braided braids. A braid of dough is placed along the edge of the loaf, giving it a frame. In order to make a braid, a piece of dough is divided into three strands, braided, and then secured to a loaf.

To make leaves from the dough, which symbolize youth and prosperity, you need to cut out diamonds from the rolled out sheet, and cut the edges of the figures into a herringbone pattern.

You can also place bunches of viburnum on the loaf. These berries, as a symbol of abundance, would look very appropriate on wedding bread. We make thick small balls from the dough, lay them out in clusters and attach them to the surface of the product.

You can also make roses from the dough. To do this, several circles need to be wrapped one inside the other and the edges turned outward. A rosy flower decoration will bring beauty and prosperity.

You can also make swans from the dough. To do this, as for a spikelet, divide the dough into two parts - the thin one will be the neck, and the thick one will be the body of the bird. From the narrow part of the dough you need to form a beak and head, and lay out the wide part and cut through the feathers with scissors, making small grooves on the edges of the dough.

If you decorate a loaf with swans, there must be two birds. This will symbolize the newlyweds' long life together.

Even if you do not plan to bake a loaf of bread with your own hands, in order to pay tribute to old traditions, think in advance where you can order a wedding loaf. A beautiful and lush loaf will be a wonderful decoration for a wedding table.

Photo of the wedding loaf

Loaf is a traditional wedding pastry that is a symbol of not only family happiness, but also fertility, as well as the transition from a single, carefree existence to a life full of commitments. Only experienced women who were happily married baked it. In no case were childless, divorced, or widows allowed to participate in this matter. It was believed that their fate could influence the future lives of the young. Not everyone knows how to bake a loaf. After all, tradition is gradually fading into oblivion. However, the recipes have still been preserved.

A little about traditions

May differ from each other. However, the baking method and accompanying rituals remain unchanged. The most suitable day for preparing a wedding loaf is Saturday. Everything needed for baking is brought into the house, where preparations for the celebration will take place.

The preparation of a wedding loaf must be accompanied by all the necessary rituals. Otherwise, he will not have the magical power that is attributed to him. Nowadays weddings take place at the end of the week. Therefore, in most cases they order from pastry shops. It is not right. The loaf should be baked by the newlyweds' relatives.

It is worth noting that the size of the muffin also matters. There is a sign: the larger the loaf, the happier and stronger the marriage will be. Therefore, if desired, the number of components included in the baking can be increased. In the old days, loaves were baked so large that it was simply impossible for one person to lift them.

How to bake a wedding loaf at home

To bake a loaf of bread for the newlyweds, you need to prepare all the ingredients in advance. To prepare the baked goods you will need:

1. From 7 to 9 cups of wheat flour.
2. 20 g dry yeast.
3. 100 g vegetable or cream based butter.
4. ½ glass of milk. If necessary, can be replaced with water.
5. 10 chicken eggs.
6. 2 teaspoons salt.
7. From 6 to 8 tablespoons of sugar.
8. Spices for aroma. In this case, it is better to use vanilla sugar, lemon zest or cinnamon.
9. Fillers for taste - raisins, marmalade, nuts and so on.

Preparing the dough

So, how to bake a loaf for newlyweds? First of all, you need to prepare yourself. It is not recommended to bake baked goods in a bad mood. After all, the loaf gives rise to a new marriage. Therefore, you should bake it only in a good mood. All loaf recipes begin with preparing the dough. This is the most crucial moment. Since not everyone can bake a loaf of bread at home, you should follow the sequence and do everything carefully.

To begin with, it is recommended to slightly warm the milk or water. The liquid should be warm, but not hot. Milk should be poured into a deep container. You should also add dry yeast here and stir everything carefully. Add sugar to the liquid. One spoon will be enough. It should dissolve in the milk.

After this, you need to add a small amount of wheat flour to the dough. It needs to be sifted through a sieve. The result should be a dough similar to pancakes. The finished dough should be lightly sprinkled with flour and then covered with a towel or napkin. In this form, the mixture should stand for 1-1.5 hours. You can get the dough out when it has expanded to its maximum size. If this is not done in time, cracks may form.

If desired, you can speed up the process. To do this, place the container with the dough in a bowl filled with warm water. Please note that with this method it is necessary to change the water regularly. This is necessary to maintain a certain temperature.

Kneading dough

How to bake for newlyweds? This process requires careful preparation, as well as compliance with all rules. When the dough is ready, you can start kneading the dough. How to do it?

First you need to separate the whites from the yolks. This can be done using an empty plastic bottle. One of the yolks should be left for greasing the workpiece before baking. What to do with the rest? The remaining yolks should be gently ground with sugar. The resulting mass should be added to the dough. Wheat flour should be poured into a deep container, separating a small amount to form decorations. This will require approximately one glass.

In a separate container you need to beat the whites. Now you need to prepare vegetable-based butter or melt the butter in a water bath. You should make a small depression in the flour, and then pour the yolks with the dough and the whipped whites into it. You should add salt and oil to the mixture. After this, you need to knead the dough into a loaf well. As a result, the mass should stop sticking to your hands. This process can last about 30 minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic.

When the mass is ready, it should be transferred to a bowl and placed in a warm place for two hours. After this, the dough should be kneaded and left for some time. It should rise.

Forming baked goods

So, how to bake a loaf beautiful and rosy? After the dough is ready, you can begin to form the loaf. How to do it?

To begin with, you should separate from the total mass from 500 to 600 grams of dough. This amount will be enough to form decorations. From the remaining dough you need to form a ball. The baking sheet should be covered with parchment paper. Place a ball of dough on it. It is recommended to moisten the workpiece with water. This must be done very carefully.

Now you can start making the decoration. The blanks and the loaf itself should be regularly moistened with water during the manufacturing process. So that it all doesn't dry out and crack. While the decorations are being made, the loaf may increase in size.

Decoration methods

Decorating the loaf is another important moment. This process should be given special attention. After all, every decorative element carries a certain meaning. There are several ways to decorate baked goods. In the first case, the elements are attached to the raw loaf. This method is only suitable for experienced housewives. After all, there is a risk that the jewelry will become blurry and lose its attractiveness.

The second method is to decorate the loaf 15 minutes before it is ready. This method is suitable for those who are decorating baked goods for the first time. In this case, the elements will have time to brown without losing their shape.

Jewelry and its meaning

It is customary to decorate a wedding loaf with elements that carry hidden meaning. What to choose for decorating baked goods? Most often used for decoration:

How to make jewelry

Making decorations for a loaf is a difficult task that requires accuracy and certain knowledge. So here are some ways to create elements from a test:

1. To make a bunch of viburnum, you need to roll fairly thick balls. After this, each workpiece must be cut into two parts. The result should be hemispheres. They should be fixed on the surface of the loaf, forming a viburnum branch.
2. To make a braid, you need to twist three ropes from the dough. Their length should be 2.5 times the circumference of the loaf. One edge of the blanks must be carefully secured, and then braided from them. Finally, the element should be fixed with a skewer.
3. To make an ear of wheat, you should roll up a rope. One end should be narrow and the other wide. After this, the workpiece must be transferred to the loaf. The wide edge needs to be slightly cut with scissors so that something like ears of corn is formed.
4. To make roses, you need to roll out 3-4 thin circles. One of the blanks should be rolled into a roll, and the next ones should be wrapped around it, slightly bending the edges. The result should be a neat and lush decoration.
5. To form the leaves, you need to cut out a diamond shape from the rolled out dough, and then cut its edges. The result should be teeth. Veins on the leaves can be made using a knife.

Should I make a hole for salt?

As a rule, a small depression is made in the center of the wedding loaf. After baking, place a small container with salt in it. The recess on the muffin also needs to be decorated. To do this, you can use elements such as a pigtail, ears of corn or leaves.

When the newlyweds are presented with a loaf of bread, they will have to break off a piece of the loaf and, after dipping it in salt, eat it. This is a mandatory ritual that symbolizes a pound of salt eaten together, and also portends a happy life for a married couple.

How to bake a loaf

While the baking decorations are being prepared, you need to turn on the oven and heat it to 200 °C. When all the pieces are ready, you need to decorate the dough ball with them. Finally, the loaf should be coated with a solution made from yolk and a tablespoon of water. Thanks to it it will be rosy and appetizing.

So, how to bake a delicious loaf for a wedding celebration. The dish with the preparation should be placed in a preheated oven. During the baking process, it is not recommended to open the door and check the readiness of the baked goods. Otherwise, the loaf will settle and lose its splendor.

When the surface of the baking becomes golden brown, you need to cover the dish with foil and then reduce the temperature in the oven to 180 °C. When the loaf is ready, you need to cool it for 20 minutes. To do this, turn off the oven and open its door slightly. The slightly cooled product should be placed on a dish or tray, previously covered with napkins.

Final stage

The surface of the loaf must be greased with butter. You can also use water with sugar for these purposes. Cover the top of the baked goods with paper napkins and then with a towel. Baking in this form should “rest” overnight. It is worth noting that you can present such a loaf for a birthday.

Making wedding cakes is an event that requires accuracy and complete dedication. The owner must put a piece of her soul into her creation. It is necessary to bake a loaf of bread with love, as well as with prayers.

Lyudmila Domashnyaya, Konstantin Larkov 09/10/2015 35819

I’ve been baking black and white bread myself at home for a long time, but I still don’t know how to decorate the loaf. My son is getting married soon, and I decided to bake one of the main attributes of this holiday myself. As it turns out, it’s very easy to sculpt beautiful patterns on the top of a flour product.

It’s a great thing when baked goods please not only with their taste, but also with their appearance. An intricately decorated loaf can become the main “hero” of a holiday table or an unforgettable gift for people dear to you. However, you can decorate homemade buns, bread and any other baked goods with dough decorations.

Loaf dough

First you need to bake the base. It's not difficult to make. Prepare the following products:

• a bag of dry yeast weighing 8-10 g;
• 1 tbsp. warm milk;
• 1 egg;
• vanillin;
• 80-100 g butter;
• 2-3 tbsp. flour;
• 0.5 tbsp. Sahara;
• 1-2 tbsp. l. sunflower oil for greasing the baking sheet;
• 1-2 tbsp. l. milk or drinking water diluted with sugar, or 1 beaten egg for greasing the loaf.

Take 1 tbsp. warm milk and pour it into a deep bowl. Add 1.5 tbsp. l. sugar, add yeast and mix everything thoroughly. Now add 1 tbsp to the resulting liquid. flour. The dough should be the same consistency as for pancakes. Leave it alone for 1 hour.

After this time, put softened butter, vanillin on the tip of a knife, an egg, 1 tbsp. flour, add the remaining sugar. Knead soft elastic dough. Leave it in a deep bowl for another 1 hour. The size of the container should be chosen taking into account the fact that the dough will rise and double in volume.

While you have time, start making “decor”.

Decoration of a wedding loaf

For this you will need: unleavened dough (like dumplings), mixed with flour, water and salt. Adjust the number of components at your discretion - the dough should be tight and elastic. Also prepare a rolling pin, knife and glass for cutting out circles.

Let's look at how to make basic elements out of dough.

1. Do you want to make a salt shaker from the dough on the top of the loaf? Nothing could be easier! Such figures are used to decorate special loaves – wedding loaves or those with which guests are greeted.

Cut a long, not very wide strip from the rolled out dough. Cut it lengthwise into 3 parts without cutting all the way through (photo 1). Weave the strips of dough into a braid (photo 2).

On one side of the braid, cut off a little dough, making the edge pointed. On the other side, cut a small triangle in the middle (photo 3).

Now align both ends so that they connect without gaps (Photo 4).

2. Now let's make a chamomile. Cut out a circle from the rolled out dough (photo 5), make several deep cuts along its edges at a distance of 0.5 to 1 cm from each other.

Lightly press the edge of each sector with your fingers, giving it a petal shape (photo 6).

Roll a small piece of dough into a ball and place it in the center of the workpiece in the form of a chamomile core (photo 7).

In a similar way, you can make two parts and place them on top of one another - you will get a three-dimensional flower. You can make even more details by reducing the diameter of the circles.

3. To make a cornflower, cut out a circle from the rolled out dough, make 5 cuts along the edges, dividing into 5 parts. In this case, one part should be twice as large as the rest (photo 8).

Then lightly pinch the larger section at the base (Photo 9).

Make shallow cuts on the base in the form of a mesh (photo 10), and on the petals - shallow dots and dashes-patterns (photo 11).

4. The next figure is called “aquilegia”. Cut out 5 circles from the rolled out dough, fold each in half (photo 12).

Connect the ends of the resulting semicircles (photo 13).

Place the petals close to each other on a flat surface so that they touch in the center (photo 14).

Roll a small piece of dough into a ball and place it in the center as a core (Pic 15).

Now form a ball from the yeast dough, place its shape, and decorate the top with the figures you just made. Don't forget to brush the dough with beaten egg or milk and sugar. Bake the loaf at 180°C. When it browns, remove from the oven.

Ceremonial ritual bread can be decorated not immediately, but 15 minutes before it is ready. In this case, the figures are guaranteed not to blur and will be lighter than the main product. It is best to attach them using a raw egg.

My loaf turned out to be small, but fabulously beautiful. If you want to bake a larger product, increase the amount of ingredients.

The traditional wedding loaf has long been considered a symbol of fertility, great family happiness, and also means the transition from a carefree single life to a family life full of responsibilities. Previously, experienced married women who were happily married had to prepare a wedding loaf with their own hands. Widows, divorced or childless people were not allowed into this matter so that their fate could not influence the future life together of the newlyweds.

Wedding loaf recipe with photo

Saturday was considered a suitable day for baking a holiday loaf. On this day, the participants in the process brought everything they needed to the house, where the rituals accompanying the preparation were carried out. Nowadays, weddings are held both at the end of the week and in the middle, and the custom of baking a wedding loaf with your own hands has almost gone out of use, giving way to products ordered from a pastry shop. However, real housewives, relatives of future spouses, will probably be happy to give them a gift - a homemade loaf.

Necessary ingredients for baking a traditional wedding loaf:

• Flour – 7-9 cups
• Dry yeast – 20 grams
• Vegetable or melted butter – 100 grams
• Milk – half a glass (you can replace it with water or a water-milk mixture)
• 10 eggs
• Salt – 2 teaspoons
• Sugar – 6-8 spoons
• Spices for flavor - cinnamon, grated lemon zest or vanilla sugar
• Nuts, raisins or other toppings to taste

It should be remembered that according to the superstition, the larger the loaf, the happier the marriage of the young couple will be, therefore, if possible, loaf makers can increase the volume of ingredients in order to make the product larger with their own hands. In ancient times, a loaf could weigh so much that several people could hardly carry it.

Dough for a wedding loaf

You must cook a loaf in a good mood, with love. If you feel bad or irritated, stop doing this activity until your mood improves. A loaf made with your own hands gives birth to a new family. Recipe for making dough:

1. Pour the warmed glass of milk (or water) into a bowl - the milk should not be too hot, just warm.
2. Dissolve the yeast there.
3. Add a spoonful of sugar, mix gently and thoroughly.
4. Slowly sift a glass of flour through a sieve. The resulting dough consistency should resemble pancake dough.
5. Sprinkle the resulting dough with a small amount of flour on top, cover with a napkin or towel, and leave for an hour or an hour and a half. Remove when it rises as much as possible. If this is not done on time, unsightly cracks may appear.

Create a warm place using a container of heated water: after covering the dough, lower the bowl into a container of water so that it gives off heat. With this method, you will have to periodically change the liquid to maintain the desired temperature. You can prepare the dough for a handmade wedding loaf like this:

1. Separate the yolks from the whites of the eggs, set aside one yolk to grease the product before baking.
2. Grind the remaining yolks with sugar, add the resulting mixture to the risen dough.
3. Set aside half a cup of flour and pour the rest into a large bowl or saucepan.
4. Beat the whites.
5. Melt butter or prepare vegetable oil.
6. Make a well in the flour, pour in the dough with yolks, butter, whites, add salt.
7. Knead the dough well, adding the reserved flour, until it stops sticking to your hands and becomes smooth - this task will take you up to half an hour.
8. When everything is ready, transfer the mixture into a bowl and leave the dough in a warm place for two hours. Then you need to knead it again and let it come up.

How to bake

Having prepared the mass (about 2 kilograms and a half) for baking, you need to start shaping the loaf. Here are the step-by-step instructions:

1. Separate 500-600 grams from the dough - this will be needed for future decorations.
2. Form the remaining mixture into a ball.
3. Cover a baking sheet with parchment, place a ball, and gently moisten it with water.
4. Come up with and make decorations for the loaf using 500-600 grams set aside earlier. While making your own decorations, preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
5. Do not forget to constantly moisten the decorations and the future loaf so that they do not dry out.
6. The loaf will probably increase in size while the decorations are being prepared, this is normal. When the decorating process is completed, mix the yolk, set aside earlier, with a tablespoon of water, grease the surface of the dish well so that it is nice and rosy.
7. Place in a preheated oven.
8. Cover the dish with foil, reduce the temperature to 180 degrees when the surface becomes golden brown.
9. After this, the loaf will bake for an hour or a little longer.

Important note: when the loaf is inside the oven, you cannot open it to check readiness. If a large amount of heat is released, the product may sag.

When the wedding loaf is completely ready, you need to cool the dish for 15-20 minutes, opening the oven door slightly. Place the slightly cooled product on a prepared plate lined with napkins, grease the surface with butter or water, dissolving sugar in it. The top will also have to be covered with paper napkins and then with a towel. In this form, you need to leave the wedding loaf overnight so that it can “rest.”

Loaf decoration

Particular attention should be paid to decorating the wedding loaf, because all the decorative details of this dish carry a certain meaning. There are two ways to decorate a product with your own hands. The first is before putting it in the oven (described above). However, in this case there is a high probability that the decorative elements will become blurry. Another option is to attach the loaf decorations made from dough 10-15 minutes before you need to remove them from the oven. This guarantees clear parts shapes.

Details decorating a wedding loaf and their meanings:

• Viburnum bunches are a must-have decoration for a wedding culinary dish. This is a symbol of love and abundance. To make the decoration, roll thick balls, cut in half, attach the hemispheres to the surface, forming viburnum branches.

• Pigtail. Traditionally, they try to decorate all loaves with this element, placing the braid along the very edge of the spherical product. She symbolizes the sun. To make a braid with your own hands, you need to make 3 long ropes from the dough (like 2.5 circles of the wedding loaf itself), connect one edge, then braid it around, secure with a skewer.

• Spikelets of wheat are a symbol of fertility. To prepare spikelets with your own hands, you need to form a test rope, one end of which will be narrow, the other wide. Then you need to attach the rope to the wedding loaf, “pinch” the thick edge on all sides with scissors, forming the grains of the ears.

• Roses. Denoting love, roses will be a wonderful decoration for a wedding loaf. To make, roll out three to four thin circles. Roll the first one into a roll, wrap the next one around, slightly bending the edges. The third one does the same, bending the edges more. The end result will be a beautiful lush decoration.

• Leaves symbolize youth and abundance. To create this loaf wedding decor detail, cut out a diamond shape from the dough mixture and score the edges. Make veins with a knife by cutting out small pieces of dough.

• Recess for salt. As a rule, while baking a dish, they make a hole in the very center of the loaf, decorating it with braids, leaves, and ears of corn. Then they will put salt there. When the loaf is brought out to the newlyweds, they will have to break off a piece, then dip it in salt and eat it - this ritual symbolizes a pound of salt eaten together, and foreshadows a further sweet life.