Oh Dough! 5 Christmas breads from around the world

The holiday season is here which means it is also time for family dinners, themed parties, friends’ get togethers, festive hang outs and any other reason you can think off to spend some quality time with your near and dear ones. And no party is complete without snacky tid-bits, coma inducing food, and something nice to sip on. While preparing your menus, if you want to add the much needed carbs while also giving your loved ones something to talk about, try your hands at kneading these different types of Christmas breads from various parts of the world.

Christopsomo

“Also known as Christ bread, the making of the Christopsomo is a tradition that dates back thousands of years and is considered sacred in Greece. For the Greeks, making this Christmas bread is like making an offering to Jesus Christ and is made with special care and love. They feel it will strengthen the well-being, health and happiness of their household. Traditionally, the women of the house makes the bread. She mixes ingredients like walnuts and raisins into the dough, and to make the bread sweeter, either sugar or honey is added,” explains Chef Sunil Singh, Blue Bop Café, Mumbai.

The bread symbolises hope, prosperity, an abundant harvest year and good health. The tradition can be traced back to ancient times, when many great Mediterranean civilizations associated the cycle of human life with the full life cycle of wheat. Usually an entire walnut is added to the centre of the cross and the bread is decorated with pieces of dough, nuts and sesame seeds however, the recipe differs from family. In some parts of Greece, the dough is formed into elaborate decorations that would represent the family’s life and work, like boat, fish, goats and so on.

Stollen

Chef Aditi Handa, Co-founder and Head Chef, The Baker’s Dozen shares, “It been around for nearly 700 years and Stollens are a German bread which are also known as Christstolle. They are baked with baked with dried fruits, candied citrus peel, nuts and spices and best eaten with mulled wine.”

Similar to a fruitcake because of its fruity centre, this yeast bread has many variations such as Mandelstollen with almond, Mohnstollen that has poppy seeds, a nut stollen or Nuss-Stollen and the Butterstollen which has a high butter content. Like the black forest cake that was famously created using Germany’s Black Forest as inspiration, the stollen is dusted with thick coat of powdered sugar, which is supposed to represent the snowy landscapes of the country.

Rosca de Reyes

Chef Alpa Pereira, Toujours, says, “The Rosca de Reyes or Three Kings Bread has roots going back to origins in France in the 14th century. After being passed on through medieval Europe, the Spanish brought the tradition over to Mexico during a conquest, where it became an essential part of the holiday season and with it, colourful tales of its religious symbolism. It is made with a mixture of bread flour, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, fresh yeast, orange blossom water and orange and lemon zest, this is also why the bread has a characteristic citrus flavour.”

It is eaten on January 6 which is the day of the Epiphany and commemorates when the three wise men visited baby Jesus and gave him gifts. The Rosca de Reyes is baked like any rich fruit bread but its speciality is the hidden plastic figurine of a baby baked into it. Whoever gets the figurine in their slice is said to have good luck and has to treat everyone to Mexican dish called tamales.

Panettone

The word panettone is said to have been derived from the word ‘panetto’ which means ‘a small loaf cake’. A traditional cake that comes form Milan, the origins of panettone has various stories. Back in 1495, the Duke of Milan threw a Christmas banquet and the desert got burnt. A cook, named Toni, came up with a rich brioche bread that was filled with raisins and candied fruit. As everyone loved it, the tradition of ‘Pane di Toni’ was born.

Later on in 1821, this bread became a symbol of liberty in Italy where the candied fruits were replaced by red candied cherries and green-coloured citrus to represent the red, white and green of the Italian flag. In this traditional sweet bread, alcohol can also be added to the dough. It is eaten along with wine, tea, coffee or with a dollop of mascarpone cheese.

Koledna Pitka

“With a cheesy savoury flavour and an amusing centrepiece shape, the Bulgarian Christmas bread also known as Koledna Pitka is a traditional go-to baked item for the season. They make great hostess gifts for parties and get-togethers too,” explains Handa. Every Bulgarian family has it own recipe for the Pitka Bread along with the way is is shaped. The bread can be served for breakfast or during meal time with soup, stews, or pasta as it is very versatile.

There is a tradition that a coin is baked into the bread and whoever finds it, is said to be the breadwinner of the house in the upcoming year. While not traditional, it can be made into garlic bread by simply adding some garlic paste or garlic pesto to the butter before it is smeared over the dough.