Vasilopita (Greek New Year’s Bread)

Written by on in Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Side Dish, Snack, Uncategorized

Happy New Year! I used to help my Yiayia (my grandmother) make this bread every winter break. She did not use measurements, instead she eye balled everything. Now that she’s gone, I decided it was time to figure out an actual recipe. This bread calls for you to hide a coin in the loaf. On New Year’s morning (at midnight), you cut the bread in order of oldest to youngest in your household (including a piece for God and the household itself). Whoever gets the coin has a year of good fortune.

This tradition is based upon the legend of St. Basil, who was upset that an emperor was collecting a tax from the people. St. Basil arranged to have everyone’s valuables returned to them, but he had no way of knowing whose valuables belonged to which family. Legend says he baked a bread and hid all the valuables in the bread. By miracle, everyone received the return of their own valuable in their slice of bread.

Vasilopita (Greek New Year's Bread)
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Vasilopita (Greek New Year’s Bread)

Recipe by The Cooking LawyerCourse: Uncategorized, Breakfast, SnackCuisine: Greek, CypriotDifficulty: Easy
Servings

8

servings
Prep time

3

hours 

30

minutes
Cooking time

40

minutes
Total time

4

hours 

10

minutes

Ingredients

  • 7 cups of all purpose flour, plus approximately 1 cup for kneading

  • 3/4 cups granulated sugar, plus 1 tsp

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 tsp ground mastiha (optional – see note)

  • 2 packets quick acting yeast

  • 2 cups milk, warmed

  • 4 eggs, beaten, plus 1 egg beaten for top of bread

  • 1/2 cup butter, melted

  • zest of orange

  • 1 TBS olive oil

  • 1 tsp sesame seeds

Directions

  • Add 1 cup of milk and 1 tsp of sugar to sauce pan. Stirring constantly and with a food thermometer in the milk in the other hand, warm milk over low heat to 75 degrees. Turn off heat.
  • Add 2 packets of yeast to the milk. Stir to dissolve yeast. Let sit for ten minutes while the yeast causes the milk to double in volume.
  • Meanwhile, sift flour into large bowl.
  • Add 3/4 cup of sugar, salt, and ground mastiha.
  • Mix dry ingredients.
  • Beat the 4 eggs. Add the remaining 1 cup of milk and orange zest.
  • Melt butter in a saucepan.
  • Mix the yeast-milk mixture with the egg mixture.
  • Get ready for the kneading (because your hands are about to get dirty) by spreading about 1/2 cup of flour on a countertop to knead the dough.
  • Make a well in the dry ingredient bowl. Add the milk-egg mixture into the well and begin stirring.
  • Add the butter and stir to form a dough.
  • Form a ball of dough, and move to the floured surface. Begin kneading the dough.
  • In a large bowl, add olive oil and coat the sides of the bowl with the olive oil.
  • Add the ball of dough to the bowl. Turn the ball so that it is coated on all sides with olive oil. Add a towel to the top of the bowl.
  • Place the bowl in a warm place. Let sit for an hour or two until the dough doubles in size.
  • Remove the towel and punch the dough. Then return to the kneading surface to knead the dough lightly.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form the dough into a ball again, and add to the lined baking sheet. Cover with the towel, and return to the warm spot to sit for another hour.
  • After 45 minutes, turn your oven to 375 degrees.
  • Whisk an egg in a small bowl to create an egg wash.
  • Once the hour has passed, remove the towel from the dough ball. Add coin into the bottom of the bread. Use a pastry brush to add the egg wash to the bread.
  • Sprinkle with sesame seeds. (You can also take some of the dough and make numbers for the top of the bread at this point).
  • Bake at 375 for ten minutes. Then turn the heat down to 350 degrees. Continue baking for 30 minutes until golden brown.
  • Remove from oven. Let sit for 10 minutes. Then move to a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes.
  • Cut the bread in a ceremony with your family for the new year. The first slice is for God, the second is for the house, the third is for the oldest member of your household. Then each family member gets a slice in order of their age. Whoever finds the coin will have good fortune in the new year.

Notes

  • You can order this from a Greek specialty store. It comes either ground or as a crystal. If you get the crystals, ground one using the bottom of a glass or mortar and pestle. If you can’t find it, substitute vanilla extract.

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