Kozuli are Arkhangelsk painted gingerbread. History, traditional recipe, painting

Have you ever heard about what a roe? It turns out that these are traditional Arkhangelsk gingerbread cakes, which have their own long and beautiful history. The process of preparing them turned into a whole rite. And they got such an interesting name because they used to make gingerbread cooks in the form of goat figurines.

Arkhangelsk Roe: history of origin

The homeland of the roebuck is Arkhangelsk. They have their own special ancient cooking recipe. In ancient Pomors these gingerbread were considered ceremonial. Cook them only once a year - during the Christmas season. All members of the family gathered for this event, and men helped them to knead the dough. Women also carved gingerbread, baked them, molded, and the children helped decorate.

Roe deer Archangel were baked more often in the form of animal figures, because the northern peoples lived only at the expense of cattle breeding and crafts. Preparation of such gingerbread bred good hunting and litter in the new year. In general, it was believed that such a figure protects the house from all evil spirits. Because they did not eat immediately and did not throw out, but stored for a long time.

Different regions had their own traditional recipes. They were kept with special trepidation and no one was initiated into them.

How did they paint the roe?

Arkhangelsk gingerbread cookies were decorated with colored sweet glaze. Mainly used two colors: white and pink. White symbolized the snow, and pink - the northern lights. The very same carrot was brown - this is the color of wood and earth.

Ancient Traditions

In antiquity it was believed that the roe had magical power. There were certain traditions on the cutting of these products. For example, animal figures should look only to the left side, and people - to the front. Often a strip was made at the bottom of the product, it symbolized the earth.

Ritual images from the dough were the prototype of gingerbread. In general, today stucco painted gingerbread is a very large ethnographic rarity, which is still preserved on the lands of the Russian North. Such figures baked in a special way: they made a dough, then molded the roe and put it in a cold place for a whole day, and then baked until golden crust. Finished gingerbread several times dipped in boiling water - supposedly from this they were made more smooth, strong and light. Thanks to this special recipe, ancient copies of the roebuck have reached us. They were placed before icons in antiquity, each gave its name, so that the owners had happiness and prosperity in the house. In addition, they were a source of pride, they boasted before the guests, so they prepared with special diligence and love. Later the roe became a stove for sale. This was done by the whole family. Men made cutters, women kneaded dough, carved figurines and baked them, and already decorated all together, with children. Each family had its own cooking recipes, which were kept in strictest secrecy and handed down from generation to generation only to their relatives.

Roe deer Archangel is nothing but a work of folk art. They have their own ancient history, which arouses great interest among art historians, artists, amateurs and connoisseurs of folk art.

Arkhangelsk Roe: the recipe for cooking

As we said earlier, each genus had its own recipe for cooking roe, which was kept secret. Over time, they were supplemented, varied, refined. However, up to our time has come a lot of old recipes. One of them, the most universal, we want to tell you.

For the test, we need to purchase such products:

1. Sugar sand - 0,8 kg.
2. Water boiled - a little more than a 250-gram glass.
3. Eggs of chicken - 3 pcs.
4. Yolks of chicken eggs - 5 pcs.
5. Butter - 2 packs (preferably 0.45 kg).
6. Wheat flour - up to two kilograms.
7. Salt - 1 teaspoon.
8. Baking soda - 2 teaspoons.
9. Ground spices - cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg. All of them are added in the ratio 2: 1: 1: 1: 1.

It turns out 3.5 kg of dough. From it you can fashion up to a hundred small cakes or up to fifty large.

Step by step cooking instruction

The dough for Arkhangelsk roe is made on the basis of burnt (the so-called caramelized sugar). It is necessary to take 0.4 kg of sugar and put on a cold thick-walled frying pan with high edges. We put it on a strong fire, warm it up. When the sugar begins to melt from below, make the fire less. Gradually, you need to bring the contents to complete dissolution, stirring actively. With caramel you need to be more careful and do not overdo it on fire. It should acquire a pleasant brownish shade and in no case smell burning.

As soon as caramel is made, at once in small parts pour water into it, stirring strongly. Be careful and do not lean over the frying pan. Water with caramel will be very sizzling and gurgling. After pouring all the water, stir the sweet mass on low heat until it dissolves completely. As a result, you get a syrup. In it, you pour out two more cups of sugar and stir, so that it also dissolves to a uniform brownish transparent syrup.

Then put a chopped oil in a frying pan, dissolve it over low heat. In the beginning it will float on the surface of the liquid. Remove the frying pan from the fire and disturb for a couple of minutes. We cool.

Next, in a small saucepan, knock off five yolks and three eggs. Pour the mass into our syrup and mix. Add soda, salt, all spices. We remind you that we take two parts of cinnamon, and the rest - only one part. Of course, all proportions can be changed at your discretion. In the traditional roe generally put a lot of spices. It all depends on your taste and desire.

We prepare the sifted flour. Gradually add it to our mix, mixing with a spatula. The dough should turn out soft and elastic. It is very important not to put a lot of flour. Otherwise, the base will be very tight. Close the pan with a lid or food film. We put it at night in a cold place (refrigerator, for example). You can even divide the dough into parts by placing them in packages, put them in the refrigerator, if you do not plan to bake all the cakes at once.

If you want to bake roe deer Arkhangelsk on the same day, you can let the test cool down, and then put it in the freezer for half an hour.

After the dough has rested, it will become dense, very elastic and will not stick to the hands (consistency of plasticine).

Cut out the figurines

To make painted gingerbread, you can use any molds. And for making original animal figures, angels, snowmen, grandfathers of frosts, you need to prepare your own patterns for stencils made of cardboard or thick paper. You will not find such a cookie in the shops. It will be real roe deer Archangelsk.

If you want to get thin and crispy gingerbread, then roll the dough no thicker than two or three millimeters. And if you prefer lush and tender, then up to one centimeter. Next, we carve figurines with molds, if you have them. And do not forget that the animals always look to the left.

Those who made their own patterns, put them on the rolled dough and carefully cut out the contour with a knife.

Then the baking sheet is covered with baking parchment and we spread out the figures. Bake them at two hundred degrees, not more than fifteen minutes. They dry up very quickly, so be careful not to overexpose them. Finished products wrap in a towel, and when cool down - fold in a box. So we prepared Arkhangelsk roe. The recipe for them is not very simple, and it will take a lot of time to spend, but what is the result!

It remains only to decorate our gingerbread.

How to prepare a glaze for painting?

How to prepare a glaze? Kozuli Arkhangelsk must necessarily be painted. Recipes there is an incredible amount. We give an example of one of the options.

You should stock up on these products:

1. Egg white - 1 pc.
2. Powdered sugar - 0,2 kg.
3. Lemon juice (freshly squeezed) - 3-4 drops.
4. Food colors (better natural).

This number of products will suffice for the painting of fifteen gingerbread.

How to paint a goat?

How can we decorate the Arkhangelsk roe? Painting - this is perhaps the most difficult in the process of their manufacture. You can use a culinary syringe, or you can just roll a little piece of a cone with a hole. Remember that the lines must be thin and neat. Patterns can do any. There are no restrictions. Fantasize and start drawing. You can use ethnic motives or invent something of your own.

More beautiful are those gingerbread, which at first fill completely with liquid glaze, and only then they apply drawings to the frozen base. This option is more correct, but also more complex. Yes, and time will have to spend more.

To make the goats bright, add food colors or natural colors to the glaze.

Natural dyes

Speaking about the Arkhangelsk roe deer (we have painted a master class on cooking), we will pay attention to what can make a colored glaze based on natural dyes. We offer such alternative substitutes from natural products:

1. White color - sugar, milk, sour cream.
2. Yellow - lemon peel.
3. Green - spinach juice, lime peel.
4. Red and pink - juice of raspberries, strawberries, currants, cowberries, pomegranate, boiled beets.
5. Orange - orange, tangerine juice.
6. Brown is cocoa powder.

Instead of an afterword

If you were struck by the beauty and history of northern gingerbread, be sure to try to bake such a miracle for the holidays, please yourself and your children. Let the baking roe become a pleasant tradition in your family. It's so beautiful, when on the threshold of the holiday the house smells delicious!