When the loaf is served. What is a wedding loaf for? Storing a wedding loaf

One of the few Russians wedding traditions, which has survived to this day, is “bread and salt”, i.e. meeting of the newlyweds with a loaf of bread. This tradition in some cases turns out to be either irrelevant or inappropriate for the bride and groom.

Then the newlyweds are offered a huge variety of original beautiful meetings, which are briefly summarized below:

1)Meeting with Pancakes Pancakes are a symbol of well-being, prosperity and a satisfying life. A large stack of pancakes is baked in advance of the wedding. Rosettes are placed on a plate nearby: with honey, with condensed milk, with jam. Each socket is placed on a napkin, which is signed with reverse side: happy life, rich life, carefree life or something else at your discretion. Before trying the pancakes, the newlyweds have to choose their filling.

2) Meeting with STRAWBERRY AND CREAM Strawberries and cream - symbol sweet life. And since the sweet life is wonderful only when it can be shared with a loved one, so the bride and groom take turns taking strawberries, dipping them in cream and feeding them to each other.

3) Meeting with PIES OF WISHES Before the newlyweds meet, they bake a large number of ruddy pies with any delicious filling, each pie contains a wish. At the meeting, the bride and groom each take a pie, eat it and read the fateful wishes out loud. The rest of the pies can be served to all guests.

4) Meeting with RED CAVIAR A large thick baguette or loaf is prepared, cut in half and generously smeared with red caviar. Parents hold the baguette in the middle, and the newlyweds are invited to break the baguette in half, holding it on both sides - whoever gets the larger half will be the breadwinner in the family. Then both halves should be eaten by the groom's guests and the bride's guests, respectively. Whose guests eat the halves faster will have stronger support. Although, to be honest, you can eat red caviar without a baguette. The symbol of a rich life is to eat it with big spoons!

5) Meeting with HONEY AND BAGELS The witness is holding a bunch of bagels. The newlyweds break one of the bagels, dip it in honey and eat it. There are 30 bagels left in the bunch - for each day of the honeymoon. Afterwards, the bundle is placed around the groom’s neck, and parting words are given - to brighten up every day of the honeymoon with sweets and remember the wedding day.

6) Meeting with SAMOVAR AND GINGERBOOKS In another way - a meeting in Russian. Gingerbread in Rus' was considered a symbol of the holiday. Moreover, gingerbread was previously called “honey bread”. Let everything in the life of the newlyweds be cozy, hospitable, warm and satisfying! The most important character is the samovar, from which the bride and groom pour tea for themselves, and also personally treat their parents. Such a meeting will look very impressive! The ambiance is supported by Russian folk music, and guests are given props in the Russian folk style.

Well, if you don’t want to eat or drink anything at the meeting, then the following ways to meet the bride and groom are suggested:

7) Meeting with SMASHING PLATESIt is believed that breaking dishes is for good luck, and since the newlyweds have a long life together ahead of them, it is suggested that they break as many dishes as possible at the wedding so as not to quarrel and enjoy everyday family life. The more fragments - the more happiness! You can even prepare 7 plates for each day of the week and break everything heartily, so that you never swear on any of the days.

8) Meeting with RING WASHING In order for something to serve faithfully for a long time throughout its life, it must be washed according to tradition, so the bride and groom are greeted with champagne, in which they will wash wedding rings. The newlyweds take off their rings and put them in glasses, then the champagne is drunk, the rings are taken out of the glasses, and the bride and groom again solemnly exchange rings in front of all the guests.

9) Meeting with HOUSEKEEPING INSPECTION On the wedding day, the bride and groom enter the family path, so you need to see how they will cope with their family responsibilities. Props are prepared in advance (a rolling pin with dough, a hammer with a board and a nail) and a platform in the form of a table. The newlyweds need to quickly complete a task - hammering a nail or rolling out dough. Whoever copes first will be the main one in the family. Also, a housekeeping test can be sawing a log with one saw on both sides as a sign of joint labor for the sake of one family!

10) Meeting with the TREE OF LIFE A small tree in a pot is being prepared for the meeting. When the bride and groom appear, they are given a watering can, and together they generously water the tree, which is given to them as a gift from their parents or those closest to them. In the best case scenario, you can plant this tree right at the holiday! Next, parting instructions are given on how to take care of the tree, how to care for it and how to grow it, because this is their family amulet. If the tree is not very small, then at the holiday it can also be used as a Tree of Wishes. During breaks, guests will come up, write wishes on business cards and hang them on a branch of this tree.

Welcome to married life, newlyweds! Your Milena Lova

Loaf is a symbolic bread that can be considered an integral attribute of a wedding celebration. Bread has always been considered generous gift earth, a symbol of wealth and fertility, and the festive loaf is also a real masterpiece, the epitome of excellence. The shape of holiday bread is necessarily round, this is a symbol of the Sun. The loaf is traditionally decorated with viburnum branches, ears of wheat, and rye. There is still a belief that whoever among the young people bites off the largest piece of the loaf will be the master of the house.

photo: Traditional loaf for a wedding

The loaf was baked on the eve of the wedding in the groom's or bride's house. This was done by the imprisoned mother of the groom and young women, who were called “loafers”, from 3 to 7 people (the number should be dishonest). All women should be happily married and have children: widows and women who had been married several times were not invited. The ritual began before sunset: the loaf women were tied with a red belt, each of them brought part of the food for the loaf. When kneading the dough, it was believed that you couldn’t even talk loudly, otherwise the loaf wouldn’t rise. The loaf makers had to be professionals in their field: the dough should not be too hard or liquid, so that the life of the young would not burst, like a loaf in the oven. Such women were revered: they were presented with tablecloths, gifts, and treats. The dough was kneaded on the lid of a bowl sprinkled with flour. Often wheat flour was used for the loaf, but it was also possible to bake from rye flour. Separately, decorations from the dough were baked: these could be figurines of domestic animals, tree fruits, flowers, stars, the sun, the month and other auspicious symbols.

photo: Baking a wedding loaf also has its own signs and traditions

It was believed that the larger and more beautiful the loaf, the more prosperous and better the life of the young family would be, so in some villages it was customary to bake a table-sized loaf. 3-4 people carried out such a loaf on a special stretcher.

After the loaf was baked and cooled, it was taken to the bride “for display.” If loaves were baked in both houses, then the parents symbolically exchanged bread. In the house of the newlyweds, a loaf of bread was placed in the newlyweds’ room for the whole night, and in the morning the friend took it and brought it to the table, and then began to divide it among the relatives and guests gathered at the table. The newlyweds were the first to give a piece of loaf: it was the center, which was associated with family happiness and symbolized wealth. The rest of the loaf was divided equally among the guests.

In different regions, the loaf was called differently: holiday bread, pie, kurnik, cookies. This bread was attributed magical power. In some regions of the country, it was a common custom to give gifts after receiving a piece of loaf.

Along with the loaf, wedding cones were also baked in the oven, which were also considered a festive attribute. Most often they were made from the same dough as holiday bread. To do this, the dough was rolled out and cut into strips 6-8 cm wide. The strips were cut with a knife and twisted so that the bottom of the cone remained smooth, and “petals” appeared on the other. Pine cones served as an “invitation” to a wedding: if we send postcards to a modern celebration, then before the bride and her friends walked around the village and invited guests: if a person was given a cone, he simply could not refuse. Sometimes, instead of pine cones, fancy figurines of birds were baked: larks, doves, ducks - they were distributed to young people.

photo: Wedding cones - used as wedding invitations

Interestingly, ritual bread was also common in Ukraine: for example, the mother of the bride was given “chobots” or “comb” baked from dough, for the groom a pair of boots made from dough, for the father-in-law the groom could bring a “harrow with oxen”, also baked in his home . The loaf was divided into pieces after the wedding dinner; this responsibility was entrusted to the headman or witness. The sole of the loaf, in which coins were often baked, was given to the musicians; part of the loaf was also left for the “Cossacks,” children and teenagers who were “beyond the threshold.”

The tradition of welcoming young people with a loaf of bread is still alive. It is customary for the groom’s mother to hold the holiday bread, however, it is possible for both mothers to simultaneously support the dish with the loaf.

Wedding cake and its history

The tradition of cutting a wedding cake has existed for several centuries. There is an ancient belief that friendship is sealed by breaking bread: in fact, this modified tradition is embodied in the process of cutting the cake and giving a piece to each guest. Even the shape or decoration of a cake can be symbolic: white or pink roses symbolized love, bright red flowers - passion, a horseshoe-shaped cake - happiness, a horn - for prosperity, a pyramid or pie - the wish to live your whole life together.

photo: Modern tradition wedding cake cutting

In ancient times, such a dish as “cake” did not exist; it was replaced by wedding bread. For example, in Rome, bread was baked from barley or wheat flour. It was not just divided into pieces, but broken right over the bride’s head: each guest received his own portion, and the groom collected and ate the crumbs from his beloved’s head. In England, the pie was replaced by a pile of small sweet buns, over which the newlyweds had to kiss, confirming their decision to live together in sorrow and in joy.

For the first time such a dish as “cake” appeared in the second half of the 17th century. Its author was a French pastry chef who came to London on business: he attended a wedding and was surprised at how haphazardly and unattractively the wedding cakes were piled up. As a result, the shapeless heap became an elegant cake, which was called croquembouche. The masterpiece consisted of cream balls, had a pyramid shape and was decorated with sweets. After this, the custom quickly spread throughout the world and became an integral attribute of a wedding or any other celebration.

It’s interesting, but for weddings in Ancient Rus' it was customary to bake unsweetened pies, the filling was mainly meat. But in Asian and European countries guests were treated to sweet pies. The first figurines of the bride and groom were made from clay back in pagan times, then they began to be made edible. For a long time, the wedding cake was cut not by the newlyweds themselves, as is done now, but by a married woman with several children, an exemplary housewife from the groom’s family. It was believed that she puts positive energy into the process itself and the life of the newlyweds will also be very good.

Multi-tiered cakes, so beloved by many newlyweds, appeared only in the 19th century. It is still not clear who took the lead in making such a sweet masterpiece: some are inclined to think that they were the British, while others defend the position that they were Viennese cooks. In any case, a start has been made. In the 20th century wedding cakes ceased to be traditionally round and pyramidal: abundance appeared various forms. The most popular type of treat is when each tier is placed on a separate stand. They bring out the cake at the climax wedding evening: by the way, you can cheat a little and cut all the tiers, except the top one, into pieces shortly before serving - and the newlyweds will have less trouble, and there is no chance of smearing the wedding dress, trying to cut this creamy splendor into pieces. The best upper tier, richly decorated, can remain intact - it belongs to the bride and groom.

photo: Modern wedding cakes

As you can see, wedding cakes and loaves appeared quite a long time ago: this is not just a tradition, but rather the history of our people, which should not be forgotten.

Since ancient times, the parents of the groom greeted newly-made spouses with bread and salt. After all, it was to their house that he brought his betrothed. Nowadays, this tradition has been somewhat simplified, and the loaf awaits the newlyweds in the banquet hall or other room where the wedding is celebrated.

What is needed to meet the newlyweds with a loaf?

Let's start with the fact that the loaf should be large. Its size and all kinds of decorations predict a rich and happy life for the newlyweds. Of course, you don’t have to create unnecessary trouble for yourself and just buy ready-made round bread from a bakery. However, by doing this you will deprive yourself of quite an interesting pastime. And what the wedding loaf symbolizes will lose its relevance. After all, you don’t even know who baked it and in what mood.

According to tradition, only women were allowed to do wedding ritual baking. For this purpose, one of the happiest married ladies was invited to the groom's house. She kneaded the dough, constantly singing positive love songs. And while shaping the bread, round like the sun, she read prayers. “Our Father” and “To the Virgin Mary” were considered obligatory. A man sent the loaf to bake. Also married and accomplished. Thus, the bread absorbed positive energy family well-being. And it was passed down from generation to generation.

Decorated wedding loaf and towel

At first, the baked goods were decorated only with viburnum branches, but a little later each decorative element became iconic:

ears of wheat - wealth,
viburnum - love,
braids are an inextricable bond between spouses.
figurines of swans - loyalty and devotion. Interestingly, it is swans that are found in many. Along with grapes, which symbolizes fertility. Both in business and in the desire for offspring.

In fact, the decoration of the loaf for the newlyweds echoed the pictures embroidered on the towel. The painted towel also contained a lot of meaning. Firstly, it had to be very beautiful, so the embroidery was entrusted to experienced craftswomen. Secondly, the towel was made double-sided: a female side and a male side. The decorations came in three rows. The first personified the continuity of generations and used plant motifs. The second is best wishes to the bride and groom. For example, red cockerels, symbolizing happiness and health, or roses for eternal love in the house. The third row served as a talisman for the young. Most often, the crown acted in this capacity. She was perceived as asking for God's blessing on the marriage.

Today the towel is given less importance. But you should still choose it very carefully. After all, you will keep this towel for many years, remembering your important day with joy. And the photo of the wedding loaf will take its rightful place in your album.

The same goes for salt shakers. You shouldn’t spoil the beautiful wedding bread with any salt shaker. It is better to buy it together with a towel set - a traditional white one with painting or a more laconic wooden one.

How to meet newlyweds with a loaf

If you follow Russian tradition, then the answer to the question of who holds the loaf at a wedding will be unambiguous. This is the mother of the groom, or an older relative who replaces her. The father or godfather should stand nearby. The guests form a semicircle, encouraging the newlyweds. Sometimes before the meeting they say special words for the wedding loaf.

The round bread is placed on a towel without a plate, and a salt shaker is placed in the middle. The towel itself should hang freely on the sides almost to the floor, but not touch it.

The one who should greet the newlyweds with a loaf of bread blesses the newly made spouses. Parents' welcoming words to the wedding may sound like this:

But it is not necessary to put your parting words in poetic form. A few sincere kind words with the conclusion “advice and love” will be enough. The main thing is that they come from pure heart.

Tip: You can take an icon of the Mother of God or the Savior to the newlyweds’ meeting. Or a folder in which both icons are immediately presented.

The young bow to their parents and thank them. Then, to the applause of the guests, a treat with bread and salt follows. The bride and groom are invited to bite off a piece of wedding pastry and eat it, after salting it. Traditional wedding entertainment involves the spouses holding their hands back and trying to bite off as large a piece as possible. The one who wins will be the master of the house.

If the groom's relatives greet the newlyweds with a loaf of bread, glasses of champagne are served by the bride's parents. And they can also congratulate the children and wish them happiness. Champagne must be drained to the bottom in order to “drink all the love,” and the glasses must be broken without regret, imagining that with this clink all troubles, both past and future, will go away.

Note: You should definitely salt a piece of loaf. Especially the bride. According to a long-standing tradition, it is believed that this is how she eats all her tears.

Treating with wedding bread

After meeting with the loaf of bread, the newlyweds and guests go to the banquet hall. Wedding bread is cut or broken into many pieces and distributed to the guests. Carrying a piece of loaf away from a wedding is considered a good omen. Unmarried girls take bread decorations from a loaf and place them under the pillow, hoping to see their betrothed in a dream.

In ancient times, there was an unspoken set of rules on how to divide a loaf. According to Russian wedding traditions, the process was led by the groom's groomsman or best man, as he is now called. After the newlyweds, the parents received the bread, then the older relatives. And only then the loaf reached the guests. Moreover, each piece was exchanged for a gift or money. The remains of the wedding loaf were distributed to the poor who were waiting on the street. So you can only imagine how big and delicious it was.

Note: You can also take the loaf to church. This will be a sacrifice asking for peace and well-being in the family.

Traditions associated with wedding bread go back hundreds of years. Therefore, if you want to preserve the continuity of generations, then try to find out everything about the wedding loaf and conduct this ceremony as colorfully as possible. You can make your own adjustments to the meeting scenario, remember other wedding signs and create an excellent program based on them. Then your family life will begin with a beautiful and symbolic holiday.

Special words for a wedding loaf

Just as people love bread and salt, so a husband would love his wife. Just as salt cannot be replaced with sugar, so a husband cannot cheat on his wife, neither with dark, nor light, nor with fat, nor with thin, nor with smart, nor with stupid, nor with any another slave. Just as people love bread and salt, so a wife would love her husband. Just as salt cannot be replaced with sugar, so a wife cannot cheat on her husband, neither with a dark one, nor with a light one, nor with a full one, nor with a thin one, nor with a smart one, nor with a stupid one, nor with any other slave. Amen.

Parents' words

Our dear children!

Take this loaf,

He is rosy, fresh and lush,

As hot as your hearts.

We put happiness in the middle for you,

Keep it until the end.

Our dear children! We give you bread and salt,

So that you divide everything in this world in half.

There will be joy or sorrow - avoid unnecessary dramas,

You need to learn to give in to each other in a dispute.

Live by faith and law, don’t look for an easy life,

Greet relatives and friends, respect father and mother.

There will be children, there will be grandchildren - everything will go as usual.

Husband, take your wife by the hand! And advice and love to you!

We have such a custom,

It has been familiar to us since childhood

Greet all guests with bread and salt

Bow low to the waist,

At the table in Russian,

Treat generously.

Bread and salt for you,

Happiness and love

This is what people have been saying since time immemorial.

They are very diverse, but baking bread in honor of marriage is a mandatory ritual in many countries. A loaf is not just a product made from sweetish dough, decorated with flowers, berries and leaves; this treat takes pride of place on wedding table. Once upon a time, it was not easy for people to feed their families. There were often droughts, wars, and other circumstances that taught them to value all food products, and primarily bread. He is the great-great-grandfather of the modern wedding cake.

What does a wedding loaf symbolize?

The round shape of this wedding treat was compared with the main heavenly body, which people worshiped in Rus', and bread has always been a sign of fertility and rich life. He is the real one, which came to us from our distant pagan ancestors. When presenting the newlyweds with a loaf, they believed that Yarilo, the god of the Sun, was taking a new family under his wing.

“Wedding” is the name our great-great-grandmothers gave to the loaf they baked in honor of the wedding. If someone expressed a desire to get married, but was still too young for this, they could say about him: “His loaf is not yet baked.” People treated wedding bread as a sacred object and believed that it would help the newlyweds overcome all adversity. That is why the process of making it is a kind of sacred rite.

Preparing a wedding loaf

Only trusted to knead the dough for wedding bread married woman who had children and was happily married, but sent him to the oven married man. Those who were single or widowed were under no circumstances allowed to participate in the sacrament of this ceremony. The loaf was always baked fluffy and large. People believed that a large wedding bread would bring the newlyweds a comfortable and happy life.

Sometimes it got to the point where I had to remove several bricks to get it out of the oven. When it was necessary to bake a wedding loaf large sizes, then several women were invited to make it, who read prayers during the work. It is believed that such bread has mystical powers and special beliefs and traditions are associated with it.

Today, this custom has practically gone out of use and its place has been taken by products ordered from confectionery shops. But real craftswomen, relatives of the future newlyweds, will certainly be happy to present the bride and groom with a gift made with their own hands from the bottom of their hearts. If you decide to please your newlyweds with such a pleasant surprise, then this will come in handy.

Wedding loaf: traditions

Bread prepared for a wedding was protected like the apple of one's eye. He was necessarily covered with a special towel and no one was allowed to look at him.
During a ceremonial feast, the loaf should be in the place of honor
Before you start dividing the loaf, you need to give gifts to the parents of the young man, this should be done by the bride.
The newlyweds must break off a piece from the top of the wedding bread, and whoever gets the most becomes the head of the family.
The remains of the wedding loaf are broken into pieces or cut with a knife and then distributed to all guests present. It's better if a child does it.
Under no circumstances should you refuse a loaf of bread; this is a sign of disrespect for the newlyweds.
It is believed that decorating wedding bread will definitely help an unmarried girl become happily married in the future.
A piece of loaf received at a wedding could be stored for many years. When a soldier went to war, he was wrapped in a rag and he protected the man from bullets and all sorts of troubles.

Who should greet the newlyweds with a loaf of bread?

According to tradition, the mother of the groom holds the ritual bread during the meeting of the newlyweds, after their marriage has been officially registered. Many years ago, after the wedding, the bride had to go live in her husband’s house and the mother-in-law greeted her son’s young wife with bread and salt. Nowadays new family Most often, after the wedding, they move to separate housing, so their parents meet them at the entrance to the banquet hall, where the festive feast will take place. In addition to the wedding loaf, the parents hold the image of the Savior, with which they bless the young family.

The groom's mother (mother-in-law), according to ancient custom, says parting words the bride and groom. They can be both in poetry and in prose, for example:

Dear children! Your wedding day is a sunny moment in your life. We sincerely wish you to be happy together. And as a sign of parental blessing, accept this loaf. It serves as a symbol of love and prosperity, and the salt on it is a warning that family life not everything is sweet. To overcome all the difficulties on your way, treat yourself to a loaf of bread, let the warmth it contains remain in your hearts forever. May your home always be cozy, filled with love, prosperity, children's laughter and good friends. Advice to you, yes love!

Usually, the speech is prepared in advance, but out of excitement and joy the memorized text is often forgotten. There is no need to get lost and upset about this. After all, maternal words spoken to children over a wedding loaf, coming from the heart and soul, will become the most best wishes and parental blessing.

After the newlyweds have tasted the wedding bread and received congratulations and instructions from their parents, they invite the guests who came to their celebration to festive table. It is worth remembering that the salt that was brought along with the loaf should be poured into a small fabric bag and hidden behind the icon with which the parents blessed the newlyweds. And decorate the icon with the towel on which the wedding bread stood. This amulet will protect family members from various misfortunes.

Many traditions ancient Rus' forgotten today, but a beautiful wedding loaf remains an obligatory and beloved symbol of the celebration today.

History of the loaf

Wedding loaf: signs and traditions

The symbol of family happiness is baked by several women (and their number should be odd) together with the godmother of one of the parties, but for this they never invite widows, childless and divorced women who could pass on their destiny to the newlyweds.
The baking of the loaf was scheduled for Saturday, and this was already the beginning of the holiday. The procedure included several stages, each of which was accompanied by ritual songs and prayers.

We evaluated the loaf after baking: it burst - Bad sign for the family, burnt - the husband will be grumpy.

Symbolism on the loaf

Today's loaf is a real work of art with its own symbolism. What does each decorative element mean in wedding baking?

A pair of doves representing love and fidelity are symbols of the bride and groom.
The braid symbolizes the girl's readiness for marriage.
A pair of swans represents devotion and fidelity in marriage.
A bunch of grapes promises prosperity to a young family.
The vine is a sign of procreation, fertility and strengthening family ties.
Viburnum – beauty and fertility.
Ears of wheat - wealth, fertility, well-being.
Rose – girlish beauty and innocence.

Wedding loaf recipe

There are many recipes and decorations for a wedding loaf, and each master adds his own ideas. Here is one of the most popular options. Products to be prepared for baking:

sugar – 7 table. spoon;
eggs – 10 pcs.;
flour – 7-8 cups;
dry yeast – 20 g;
milk – half a glass (can be half and half with water);
butter – 100 g;
salt – 2 tsp;
ground cinnamon;
zest of one lemon (optional)

Dissolve yeast in milk with a teaspoon of sugar. Break 9 eggs, separating the yolks (reserving the tenth for greasing the top of the pie). Grind the yolks and sugar, combine with the milk-yeast starter. Mix well. Sift the flour into a large, tall bowl (you can do it several times) and make a funnel in the center of the mound. Pour the yolks with milk into the well, add the rest of the ingredients (butter, salt, whipped whites and spices). Stir until smooth and place on a table previously sprinkled with flour. Add flour in parts and knead until the dough is pliable and stops sticking. It is easier to knead with dry, oiled hands. This takes up to 30 minutes. The mass of the dough at the exit is about two kg. Transfer to a tall container and leave in a warm place. When the dough increases, it must be kneaded and put back in a warm place without drafts. After it has risen again, you can move on to baking. Separate part of the dough (about 500 g) for decoration, and roll the main mass into a ball and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment.

Baking and decorating secrets

If you decide to make a wedding loaf with your own hands, pay attention to some of the subtleties of baking and decorating technology. Prepare a sketch for decorating the pie. To secure the decorative elements, the loaf must be lubricated with water.

According to the drawing, make doves, swans, braids, roses, a lattice, spikelets, leaves and other elements from the dough. The dough for the figures is rolled out thinly - 3-5 mm. Constantly moistening the surface with a spray bottle (it is better not to touch the dough), lay out all the decorations according to the sketch. Massive figures such as swans or doves are best baked separately. Then they definitely won’t burn and won’t fail the dough. (This does not apply to flat decorations).

Do not overdo it with moisturizing - instead of a smooth surface, you may end up with an “orange peel”.

How to make a container for salt?

If you want to make a loaf with a container for salt, for decoration you need to prepare three flat strips of dough (not ropes!) and braid it, connecting it into a ring. We fasten it so that the pigtail lies on its side. Make a ring out of foil in several layers and insert the braided ring inside. Secure the entire structure to the top of the loaf, brushing the top of the joint with egg. (Do not pinch!) The top is carefully covered with a foil lid.

Salt was usually poured directly into the recess, without a salt shaker. But in the old days bread and salt were brought to dear guests, not to young people. Wedding loaf Can be served without salt.

Decorations for loaf and baking delicacies

For decorations, you can also use shortbread dough - regular and colored cocoa. If you grease only the loaf, and do not grease the figures with egg, then they will stand out beautifully against a dark background. Shortcrust pastry recipe: 50 g of butter per glass of flour. Grind into crumbs and add as much water as needed to make a soft, elastic dough.

The decorated loaf should come again. In total, it should increase three times in volume. The surface must be periodically moistened to prevent weathering.

If you use regular fresh yeast in the recipe for a wedding loaf, then after kneading the dough, cover it with plastic and leave it warm for some time. When using dry yeast, molding can begin immediately. Live yeast is more capricious in baking, which is important when decorating a loaf - the base is suitable, but the decor is not yet ready. Dry yeast is finely porous and more durable, the dough does not fall off.

Before putting it in the oven, use a pastry brush to brush the loaf with the remaining yolk mixed with a spoonful of water.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and place the loaf. When the product is browned, cover the top with foil and reduce the heating temperature to 180 degrees. On average, a loaf is baked for about an hour. It is better not to open the oven until the end of baking so that the dough does not settle.

In the slightly open oven, leave the loaf to cool for another 15 minutes, then transfer it to a tray covered with a napkin so that when it cools, the bottom does not get damp from condensation. The surface of the loaf should be greased with butter.
It is easier to remove the baking paper from a still warm loaf after taking it out of the oven - from a cold loaf you will have to soak it with water.
The loaf can be baked not only on a baking sheet, but also in a mold. Then it will look like an Easter cake, the sides of which are decorated with pre-prepared patterns (see photo of the wedding loaf).
If the oven is gas (dries the air), so that the loaf does not burst during baking, you can place a wide bowl with boiling water. Electric ovens rarely require additional humidification. If the bottom burns, sprinkle coarse salt on a baking sheet (under the paper).
The finished loaf should be covered with napkins and a towel and left to rest overnight. You can even wrap it in a blanket for complete ripening.

How to serve a wedding loaf

The custom has not changed since ancient times: the loaf is placed on a wedding towel, which is specially embroidered for the occasion, and presented to the newlyweds. This usually happens after the wedding (or registration at the registry office) before guests are invited to the table. In the old days, the loaf was presented to the groom's mother. Parents congratulate the newlyweds and bless them life together. One of the godfathers of the couple shared it, and the children carried pieces to the guests. A two-kilogram loaf can serve up to 50 guests.

Presentation of the loaf - the final stage wedding ceremony, the end of the period of youth of the bride and groom. It was baked only once - at the first marriage. The newlyweds had to thank and kiss the loaf three times. The top went to the young, it was supposed to be salted and eaten, and the one who bit off the largest piece was declared the head of the family.

There is another option - the bread needs to be broken off, and the larger piece goes to the one who is... more greedy. Which one is more aesthetic is up to you to decide, the main thing is not to spill the salt! The middle was taken to the guests, and the bottom was given to the musicians (you could find a baked coin there). It was customary to give jewelry from the loaf to the bride's unmarried friends.