Today’s post is hard to write. I’ve had a couple of attempts but after few short sentences the teary eyes forced me to think of something else.
I’m a very emotional person and around the holidays I’m even worse. Those of you that aren’t spending holidays with your family might understand me better. As some of you know I know live in Central Virginia with my beautiful daughter and amazing husband but the rest of my family is half way across the world and I haven’t seen them in over a year and the last time we spent holidays together was years ago.
I have a ton of wonderful Christmas memories with my big family. We were that family of 20-25 that had dinner together at every holiday and did Sunday lunch as often as possible. Now, I’m lucky I get to video-chat with them.
One of the holidays memories is watching my mom make “cozonac” the Romanian swirl bread.
The bread is a brioche like bread, rich from the butter and eggs with a soft crumb and filled with fruit. My mom used to make it with Turkish Delight but I haven’t found it lately at the ethnic store. She also used to make a poppy-seed filling. No matter what you decide to fill the bread with you really should make it.
The technique is a little different, but i’m pretty sure it’s also easy to follow and understand.
To get the recipe you’ll have to follow me to my friend Lora where I’m guest posting today. (click on the link or on the photo below)
Romanian Swirl Bread
For other Christmas treats check out #25recipestoXmas. You can also see the gallery on Pinterest or onGoogle+
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To help you with the holiday baking BigKitchen is offering one lucky reader one Orka Digital Scale.
I love my digital scale. Makes measuring dry ingredients and breeze and with the tare function adding more ingredients is a piece of cake. The Orka Digital Scale not only does it have a cool design but can also hold up to 11 pounds! 11! I’m already jealous of the winner!
To enter the giveaway use the rafflecopter form below. Please leave the mandatory comment or the other entries will be deleted.
The giveaway is sponsored by BigKitchen. I wasn’t given free products or compensated for this post. Opinions are all mine.
The giveaway is open until Wednesday, December 29th at 11:59 p.m. EST. The giveaway is only open to U.S. residents. Be sure a valid email address is included with your mandatory comment. Winner will be announced on this post. I will email the winner and if the winner doesn’t respond in 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!
{ 92 comments… read them below or add one }
I like to bake ciabatta or a stout chocolate cherry bread that’s fantastic!
*crosses fingers* This baking hoor needs a new scale!
oh the bread looks like perfection! The swirl, the dried fruits, it all looks amazing and perfect for a holiday breakfast!
I love an orange cranberry bread around Christmas time.
Thanks for sharing your family memories and recipes!
Iti urmaresc de multa vreme retetele, multe din ele le-am incercat si eu, iti multumesc pentru ele ! Reteta de cozonaci si mai ales textul introductiv m-au facut sa-ti scriu in romana, sa-ti multumesc personal si sa iti urez sa ai parte de Sarbatori Fericite !
Mirela
Sarbatori fericite si tie Mirela.
Imi este greu acum in prag de sarbatori, dar ma hranesc cu amintiri si cozonac.
Multumesc pentru mesaj, mi-ai facut ziua mai frumoasa
Roxana
Roxana, you are absolutely the queen of bread making…this is beautiful and so festive!!!
This Is beautiful! I will try this, I hope your Christmas is a blessed one and you get to see family soon.
this bread looks delicious. I love to make beau monde bread. also have never owned a scale, but would love to have one. Thanks for the opportunity
I love your beautiful Romanian bread, Roxy. I know how you feel about writing the post. I appreciate you sharing with my readers your recipe and love all you do. xoxo
I love making homemade cinnamon buns!
I don’t have a favorite bread for the holidays, but I do love pumpkin pie. It’s the only time of year it’s baked, I’m the only one who likes it, so it’s special to me to bake one this time of year and enjoy every bite of it all by myself! Thanks for a wonderful giveaway and have a happy, healthy and wonderful Christmas and New Year!
Roxana, your definitely the bread whisperer. This looks amazing!
A very beautiful holiday bread, Roxana.
It must be hard to be separated from your families and all the memories that brings up. But just think about all the wonderful new memories you’re now creating for your daughter. The bread looks great.
Cinnamon Rolls!
What a beautiful bread, Roxana! Headed over to your delicious recipe
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I also have a hard time at Christmas, missing those that have passed on! I try that much harder to make the holidays special for family now!Thank you for sharing!
You are the bread Queen – another fabulous recipe!
My favorite holiday bread is stollen, for which I make the dough in the bread machine and shape it by hand. Kinda cheating, but it’s still good.
What a beautiful bread Roxy. Absolutely stunning. Merry Christmas!
It look so delicious.Love it very much.Perfect for the holidays!!!
cinnamon buns!!
I love to bake sugar cookies!
Artisan bread stuffed with cranberries and walnuts. I want to try donuts this year!
I love cranberry orange bread.
Your breads always astound me roxie! They are so perfect and fluffy
And i know what you mean,,,i am quite emotional around the holidays too. I miss my family so much this time of the year
Raisin bread!
You did a beautiful job
What a beautiful loaf!
My favorite desert would have to be a hummingbird cake. I haven’t met a person yet that doesn’t like it warm out of the oven. And, it is great with whipping cream or icing, with vanilla or walnut ice cream, or just as a coffeecake and no icing at all. It will serve as a desert, a coffee desert, or as a snack when you are peckish. Cannot top it for versatility,. YUM!
I’m making Holiday Wreaths. Also with butter and eggs…but I just used candied cherries as I’m not too fond of the citrus that comes in the mixed fruits. Good thing I know how to braid!
I want it…. I need it…. asap
That bread looks delicious. I haven’t made bread for the holidays only scones and cookies.
I usually make a fruitcake but no one in my family eats it……so I usually eat the whole thing myself
I love to make Almond Poppy Seed Bread!
They aren’t the fanciest bread you’ll ever eat, but my great-grandmother’s recipe for refrigerator rolls is still made every Christmas. Biting into one of those big fluffy rolls just dripping with butter tastes like childhood Christmas dinners.
It has to be a traditional fruitcake with all the candies fruit. It’s my absolute favorite and I know I’m in the minority on that.
Good morning Hillarey,
Congratulations! You’re the winner of the Orka digital scale! Please email me your address to have it sent your way soon!
Roxana
I love to bake lots of cookies to give away!!!
This year I’m only doing easy stuff. So the dessert is going to be Strawberry Napoleons.
I like to make quick breads; banana, apple, etc. I look forward to making the recipe for your swirl bread.
Lots and lots of cookies.
Looks great!
The recipe sounds wonderful – I can’t wait to try a couple of variations – but thank you for sharing your family tradition. The stories of love and family are what make the foods delicious.
I don’t bake bread. There are stores and bakeries but for my granddaughters sake I bake cherry or raspberry pies or brownies or chocolate chip cookies. I love baked good but too lazy to do the work
Cranberry bread
Fudge!
divinity
German Chocolate cake.
I love baking cookies
My favorite is Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Bread
My favorite dessert that I make is triple chocolate toffee
Banana bread.
We love zucchini bread and pumpkin rolls.
cranberry orange
I like to make cinnamon buns.
I like to make a Cinnamon Swirl Bread!
I like making Stollen and Gingerbread Biscotti.
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
I don’t Twitter, but thanks for pointing out all of these FB food pages that I didn’t have before!
I like to make cinnamon rolls.
banana nut bread
I love banana bread pudding with spiced rum sauce!
I love making cookies!
Looks great!!
My family loves pecan pie and coconut/pineapple snowballs!
Of course I love a zillion different kinds if Christmas cookies!
Hello Roxana,
I love bread baking–just stumbled onto your site. Do you have a good recipe for a bread with Kalamata Olives? I think one bread I tried included some whole grain flour..
thank you!
Hi Charlene,
I do not have any recipe using olives, will have to write down and share one in the New Year. Thanks!
Roxana
I like to make pumpkin pies.
Pumpkin bread
I like to bake date bars.
I love baking chocolate peanut butter cookies
frosted sugar cookies!
my favorite holiday treat: baking vanilla almond crescents
Thank you for hosting this giveaway
Louis
pumuckler {at} gmail {dot} com
My digital scale broke when ‘someone’ played with it and put something way to heavy on it and then pushed buttons continuously. I so desperately need a new one! I don’t suppose that delicious bread is a loser’s consolation prize, is it? It looks amazing.
I make cinnamon raisin bread. I have been trying to make glutenfree but not converting yo well. I guess I need a scale.
I like making banana bread.
looks amazing – I must try it
I love to make zucchini Bread
pecan pie
vmkids3 at msn dot com
To make cozonac, I use the bread machine and the recip for pannettone. It comes out pefect evertime.
Banana bread…yummy!
During the holidays, I have so many recipes that I love to bake. One that stands out this year, though, is shortbread.
I like to make a cranberry orange bread.
Banana Nut Bread
Cinnamon rolls
Banana bread
i like pumpkin cheesecake
My favorite is Lemon poppy seed bread
I love to make pizzelles.
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