How to make
Dilute the yeast with the warm water and milk, add 3-4 tbsp flour and 1 tbsp sugar.
Stir the mixture well and cover it to effervesce in a warm area.
In the meantime, heat the fats until the butter and lard melt.
Beat the eggs with the sugar, salt and vanilla sugar.
Add the warm fat to them while stirring nonstop. Stir well until the sugar melts.
Sift part of the flour in a bowl. Make a well in it and pour the effervescent yeast in it - stir with a spoon, while gradually adding the egg mixture as well.
Stir with a spoon, add more flour.
Once stirring with the spoon becomes difficult, put the dough on the counter and continue kneading with your hands. You need to obtain a medium soft dough. Toward the end of kneading, stretch the dough out and pour 2-3 tbsp oil in the middle.
To obtain the threads, stretch the dough out several times and knead again.
Next, hit it 100 times on the counter - to make it stretchy. Once that's done, you'll see bubbles in it.
Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a towel and put it in a warm area (in a 70°F (20 °C) oven for example). Rising takes 50-60 min., until the dough doubles in volume.
Then pour it onto a slightly oiled counter and form it into weaves if desired.
Smear the cozonac with beaten egg yolk, sprinkle with crystal sugar and a few sliced almonds.
Bake the cozonac at 320°F (160 °C) with fan off, about 40-45 min. to a nice crisp.
From this dough I was able to get 2 medium-sized cozonacs.
I weaved one from 4 wicks of dough and baked in a 10 1/2″ (27 cm) form. I made the second from 2 weaves of 3 wicks in an 11″ (28 cm) form.
