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Kulich-Craffin with Sand Crumbs, Raisins, Cranberries, and Candied Fruits

I decided to bake this trendy kulich-craffin. The recipe is not complicated, just requires a little effort, but your efforts will not be in vain, believe me. In the end, the kulich turns out incredibly delicious, flaky, crispy on top, and incredibly tender and airy inside. It's so delicious! At the moment, this is my favorite, no doubt!

You can use any candied fruits of your choice (I used pineapple); instead of cranberries, you can use dried cherries, blueberries, strawberries, etc.; and using cane sugar instead of regular white sugar will make it even tastier and richer in flavor.

For the dough:

Flour

5 cups

Warm Milk

13/16 cup

Dry Yeast

1 tbsp

Eggs

2 pcs

Egg Yolks

3 pcs

Sugar

2/3 cup

Salt

1/4 tsp

Orange Juice

3 tbsp + 1 tsp

Vanilla Extract

1 tsp

Zest of 1 Orange

Zest of 1 Lemon

Honey

2 tbsp

Melted Butter

5.6 tbsp

Butter for Layering Dough

3.5 tbsp

Sand Crumbs:

Flour

1 cup + 1 tbsp

Sugar

2/3 cup

Softened Butter

4.2 tbsp

Filling:

Raisins

1 cup

Dried Cranberries

2/3 cup

Candied Pineapple

2/3 cup

To prepare the kulich-craffin, start by preparing the yeast. Pour warm milk (100°F) into a suitable container, add dry yeast, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes to activate.

If you prefer working with fresh yeast, use 36 g.

Next, take a bowl, beat 2 eggs and 3 egg yolks in it, add sugar and salt. Beat everything with a mixer until fluffy and pale.

In another bowl, sift most of the flour, make a small well, and pour the activated yeast into it. Mix slightly.

Then add the beaten eggs, orange juice, orange zest, lemon zest, vanilla, and honey. Mix everything with a spatula to combine the ingredients.

Add the remaining flour, melted butter, and continue kneading the dough.

Transfer the dough to a work surface and continue kneading. The dough is quite sticky, but no need to add more flour. It's very convenient to do this with a plastic scraper. Knead the dough for 15 minutes.

I think you can also knead the dough using a stand mixer, but as they say, dough loves hands. Moreover, kneading the dough will be a good workout for you. :-)

Grease the dough and your hands with a small amount of sunflower oil, shape the dough into a ball, and transfer it to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place for 1-1.5 hours. The dough should double or triple in size.

Prepare the sand crumb by mixing sugar, flour, and adding softened butter. Then crumble everything with your hands to form crumbs. Place it in the refrigerator.

Prepare the filling. I briefly poured raisins and cranberries with boiling water, then strained and dried them with paper towels.

Prepare the molds. I took two (diameter-5.5 inches, height-4.3 inches) and increased the height by using parchment paper to 6.7 inches. I also lined the bottom of the molds with parchment. I did not grease the parchment (I have good silicone-coated parchment), if you have a regular one, grease it with vegetable or butter.

This is how my dough turned out, I think it's at least tripled. Divide it into two equal parts, shape them into balls, cover with plastic wrap, and let them rest for about 5 minutes. (Each weighing approximately 23 oz)

Take one part of the dough and roll it out into a thin layer about 0.1 inch thick. Generously spread it with softened (almost liquid) butter.

Next, sprinkle half of the prepared portion of the sand crumbs over the dough and then add half of the filling on top.

Roll up the dough with the filling into a tight roll, set aside, and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat the same with the second roll.

Using a sharp knife, cut the roll in half without cutting through one end, leaving about 1.6 inches uncut. Twist the kulich so that the cut is on the outside, showing the layers.

Place the uncut end on top and twist it as if making a second floor. Tuck the last tip of the dough inside.

Gently place the dough into the prepared molds and make the second kulich in the same way. Cover the molds and let them rise for 1-1.5 hours. They should rise almost to the top of the parchment.

Bake the kulich-craffins. I preheated the oven to 170°F, placed the kulich-craffins in, and baked for about 1 hour. (Monitor your oven, mine has good heat distribution.) Be sure to check for doneness with a wooden skewer, inserting it into the deepest part of the kulich - if it comes out dry, the kulich is ready.

The kulich-craffins turn out quite large; next time, I will use 4 such molds, making medium-sized kulich-craffins, without the need to increase the height of the molds, and less baking time will be required.

Look at the structure of the kulich, it's airy, fluffy, very soft, and flaky. It's a miracle, not just a kulich! This kulich doesn't need decorations; sprinkle the cooled kulich with powdered sugar, and that's it!

(4/5)