Recipe taken from:

Croatian Desserts: 50 authentic recipes to make at home by Andrea Pisac

The first Croatian cookbook of sweets and cakes, launching in April/May 2018

Sweet Easter Bread

Pinca
 
'peentsah
 
Sweet, rich with eggs and aromatic, pinca is the perfect way to welcome
Easter and end the lean time of Lent. When it comes to pairing flavours,
Croatian cuisine falls in the tradition camp. Sweet and savoury is rarely
matched on the same plate. But pinca is different - it’s served with ham for
Easter breakfast.

Pinca was first eaten in the coastal Croatia where it was brought by the
Venetians. Today, most of the country enjoys this fragrant bread on Easter
morning.

In Dalmatia, it’s also called sirnica, though it has nothing to do with sir
[cheese]. The name probably refers to proofing the dough without yeast
(usiriti).
Recipe taken from:
Croatian Desserts: 50 authentic recipes to make at home by Andrea Pisac
The first Croatian cookbook of sweets and cakes, launching in April/May 2018

Pinca is all about eggs - the ancient symbol of both spring and Easter. The
dough is enriched with eggs and then brushed with egg yolks before baking
to produce the lovely brown finish. Pinca traditionally has a three-point mark
cut into it. When it’s baked this creates a seat where Easter eggs can be
placed.

The proper way to bake pinca is on Holy Saturday. Never on Good Friday -
the time for fasting and abstaining from work. It is usually placed in a basket
and taken to Church for blessing, either on that Saturday evening or on
Easter morning.

Ingredients:
For 4 medium size pinca breads

YEAST SPONGE:
40 g ​[1 ⅓ oz]​ fresh yeast or 14 g ​[4 ½ tsp]​ dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
100 ml ​[½ cup]​ tepid water

DOUGH:
900 g ​[7 ¼ cup]​ all-purpose flour
150 g ​[1 ¼ cup]​ all-purpose flour for kneading
1 tsp salt
250 ml ​[1 ⅛ cup]​ cold milk
1 whole egg and 3 egg yolks
200 g ​[1 cup]​ granulated sugar
1 tbsp vanilla-flavoured sugar
100 g ​[½ cup]​ lard (can be substituted with softened butter but lard is
better)
2 tbsp rum or maraschino
Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
Juice of 1 orange
1 tbsp honey
½ tsp cinnamon

FILLING:
50 g ​[⅓ cup]​ raisins soaked in 2 tbsp rum

DECORATION:
2 egg yolks for brushing
12 sugar cubes for decorating
Recipe taken from:
Croatian Desserts: 50 authentic recipes to make at home by Andrea Pisac
The first Croatian cookbook of sweets and cakes, launching in April/May 2018

Preparation: 
Step 1
Soak raisins in rum a few hours before you start.
Prepare the yeast sponge by crumbling fresh yeast in a bowl, add 1 tbsp
sugar and 1 tbsp flour (from the overall amounts), mix in tepid water and
leave to stand for 15 minutes.

 
Step 2
Start adding the ingredients in the following order: sugar, vanilla-flavoured
sugar, salt...

 
Recipe taken from:
Croatian Desserts: 50 authentic recipes to make at home by Andrea Pisac
The first Croatian cookbook of sweets and cakes, launching in April/May 2018

Then egg and egg yolks, lard, maraschino, orange and lemon zest, orange
juice with honey dissolved in it and milk.

 
Whisk together for a couple of minutes until all the ingredients come
together. Lard will stay grainy - that’s normal.

 
Set aside for 10 minutes to allow all the ingredients to fuse.
 
Step 3
Whisk in cinnamon into flour to distribute evenly. Sift half of the flour in and
whisk more to get a smooth runny mixture.
Recipe taken from:
Croatian Desserts: 50 authentic recipes to make at home by Andrea Pisac
The first Croatian cookbook of sweets and cakes, launching in April/May 2018

 
Sift the remaining flour in. Use the mixer with dough hooks to finish the
dough. It will take 2-3 minutes.
 
In the old days, this was done by hand or wooden spoon and it was referred
to as flogging the dough.

Your dough needs to be very smooth and silky. When it’s like in the photo
below, cover with kitchen towel and leave in a warm place to proof for two
hours.
Recipe taken from:
Croatian Desserts: 50 authentic recipes to make at home by Andrea Pisac
The first Croatian cookbook of sweets and cakes, launching in April/May 2018

Step 4
The dough needs to double its volume.

Now use a hand or wooden spoon to flog it for just a bit to release the air
from it. Transfer to a floured surface.
Recipe taken from:
Croatian Desserts: 50 authentic recipes to make at home by Andrea Pisac
The first Croatian cookbook of sweets and cakes, launching in April/May 2018

 
Start ‘collecting’ the dough from the edges in, towards the centre. Like in the
photo below. This way, you’ll end up with a smooth ball.

 
Step 5
Press to flatten it into a disk and add the raisins. They should be plumped up
and all the rum should have disappeared.
Recipe taken from:
Croatian Desserts: 50 authentic recipes to make at home by Andrea Pisac
The first Croatian cookbook of sweets and cakes, launching in April/May 2018

 
Knead the raisins into the dough so they get inside.

 
Step 6
Divide the dough into four parts. Shape them into balls and leave them to
proof for another hour.
Recipe taken from:
Croatian Desserts: 50 authentic recipes to make at home by Andrea Pisac
The first Croatian cookbook of sweets and cakes, launching in April/May 2018

 
Once they double their volume again, give them an egg yolk wash.

 
Cut a three-point sign into each ball. Go all the way with the knife.
Recipe taken from:
Croatian Desserts: 50 authentic recipes to make at home by Andrea Pisac
The first Croatian cookbook of sweets and cakes, launching in April/May 2018

 
Step 7
Place sugar cubes inside a kitchen towel and break them into smaller chunks
with a rolling pin.

Decorate each pinca with a handful of sugar chunks. Leave them to proof for
another half hour.

Step 8
Bake in the preheated oven at 180 °C ​[350 °F]​ for about 30 minutes. The
egg wash will turn dark, this is what we want.

Leave to cool completely. Serve at room temperature. You can either slice
pinca or just break it up by hand.