What does the wedding loaf symbolize? The recipe for its preparation

What does the wedding loaf mean for modern married couples and give it the same value as in the old days? By no means, quite often it is simply replaced with a wedding cake, not reflecting on the fact that the loaf, the recipe of which is passed down from generation to generation, is not just bread. The wedding loaf is a whole ritual, a peculiar sacrament, which is performed before the solemn wedding. And not everyone can take part in its baking. How to know if the rapidly growing number of disintegrating marriages is the result of the failure to observe the age-old traditions laid down by our wise, all the notable ancestors who respected bread with reverence, considering it the most generous of Mother Earth's gifts.

According to the Slavic tradition, even from pagan times, a wedding loaf, the recipe of which was sacredly preserved, is an obligatory attribute at every festive feast about the wedding (wedding). A loaf-shaped loaf in the shape of a circle is a symbol of the heavenly luminary, which they tried to appease so that the sun-god was merciful, took under his veil and blessed the newlyweds. The presence of a caravan at the wedding feast has read a long, happy and wealthy life for the young.

They were preparing the festive bread of the karavaynitsa - by all means married, and, of course, happy in the marriage, women. Childless and widows were not allowed to bake a ritual loaf. The number of participants was supposed to be odd (3, 5, 7). Appointed the senior karavaynitsa - a woman living in harmony with her husband, who has responsive and hard-working children. It was believed that a loaf - a recipe for not only baking. It was believed that happiness, love and harmony are transferred from the caravan to the newlyweds.

So, the mysterious ritual of baking a wedding caravan consisted of several necessarily fulfilled conditions.

• The right to knead the dough was received by a happy woman (karavaynitsa), who previously covered her head with a handkerchief, washed herself and put on her cross;
• A married man put a loaf in the oven;
• During the preparation the prayers "Our Father" and "Theotokos" were read, the verdicts were sung: "You are a baker, you have to make a loaf, thicker than a brick stove, higher than a column of oak";
• Ready-made loaf, the recipe for decorating which provided for the presence of a viburnum - a symbol of strong and strong love, wheat - prosperity and well-being, protected from the eyes of others, covered with embroidered towels before the celebration.

The sign means that the more and more the loaf comes, the richer and happier the life of the newlyweds, so they tried to bake large loaves.

Wedding loaf. Recipe

Ingredients:

• Flour - eight glasses;
• Sugar - 7-8 spoons;
• Eggs - 10 pieces;
• Milk - within one or two glasses;
• Oil (vegetable or cream) - 100 g;
• Yeast - 25 g;
• Salt - a couple of teaspoons.

The recipe for a caravan at a wedding . Preparation

1. Yeast is bred in warm milk, mixed with yolks and sugar.
2. Whites are beaten separately.
3. The flour is poured into a container for kneading dough. Add a mixture of yeast with yolks and sugar. Mix and spread whipped proteins, salt and oil.
4. The dough is kneaded long and carefully (about half an hour), laying it on a table, previously sprinkled with flour. The approximate yield of the finished dough is about 2.4 kg.
5. A pound of test is left for decoration.
6. The main piece, rolled up in the form of a ball, is laid out on a baking sheet, decorating it with leaves, flowers, braids, etc.
7. Leave to approach until the product has increased three times in volume. Before shipment to the oven, the loaf is smeared with whipped yolk to make it ruddy and shiny.
8. Bake in a preheated oven to 250-300 ° C for about half an hour, reducing the temperature to 180 ° C in the end.
9. After baking, the ready loaf is covered with a napkin, so it does not wither, but will be soft and lush for a long time.