Easter Kulich with Active Dry Yeast (Oven-Baked)
Fluffy, beautiful, very tasty - for the bright holiday! Oven-baked Easter kulich with dry yeast is an easy version of this fragrant traditional bake. Besides raisins, add dried cherries, cranberries, or citrus zest.
Updated : 28 January, 2026
Easy
More than 1 hour.
Ingredients
Starter
150 milliliters
Milk
1 tablespoon
Sugar
4 grams
Dry yeast
25 grams
Wheat flour
Dough
2
Eggs
100 grams
Sugar
60 grams
Butter
7 grams
Vanilla sugar
0.5 teaspoon
Salt
35 grams
Candied fruit mix
45 grams
Raisins
340 grams
Wheat flour
Glaze
1 teaspoon
Gelatin
100 grams
Powdered sugar
4 tablespoon
Water
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
How do you make oven-baked Easter kulich with dry yeast and milk? Measure the ingredients for the dough. Melt the butter in advance. Warm the milk slightly. All other ingredients should be at room temperature so the dough rises well.
Step 2
Sift the flour so it’s aerated with oxygen. This helps the dough rise more easily and makes the baked kulich fluffy.
Step 3
Rinse the raisins well and plump them. How to plump raisins: pour hot water over the well-rinsed raisins and leave for 10-15 minutes until soft.
Step 4
Prepare the ingredients for the sponge. In a bowl, combine sugar, yeast, and warm milk.
Step 5
Add flour. Whisk until smooth.
Step 6
Leave the sponge in a warm place for 15-20 minutes until a fluffy foam forms. If no foam appears, the yeast isn’t active and needs to be replaced.
Step 7
In a small bowl, beat the eggs with salt until smooth.
Step 8
Add the egg mixture, sugar, and vanilla sugar to the sponge and mix.
Step 9
Pour in the melted (but not hot) butter and mix again.
Step 10
Add most of the sifted flour. You can add it through a sieve to sift twice. Start with about 3/4 of the flour and stir the dough with a spoon.
Step 11
Add the remaining flour in small portions. Be ready that you may need more or less flour than stated. Focus on the dough consistency, not the exact amount.
Step 12
The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Cover the bowl with a towel and leave in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour.
Step 13
Drain the water from the plumped raisins and pat them dry. Toss the raisins with a little flour so they distribute evenly in the dough.
Step 14
After an hour, the dough will increase 2-2.5 times in volume.
Step 15
Punch down the dough, add candied fruit and raisins, and gently mix.
Step 16
You can bake kulich in any molds: metal, silicone, or paper. Divide the dough and place it into the molds, filling them 1/3 to 1/2 full. I filled mine 1/3, but up to half would work. I used two molds 12.5 cm (about 5 in) in diameter and one mold 9 cm (about 3.5 in) in diameter.
Step 17
Cover the molds with plastic wrap or a light towel and leave in a warm place. The dough should double in volume. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F.
Step 18
Bake the kulich in a preheated 180°C / 356°F oven for 20 minutes. When the tops brown, cover with foil and bake at 160°C / 320°F for about 20 more minutes until done. Check doneness with a wooden skewer - it should come out dry from the center. Baking time and mode may vary, so consider your oven. Remove the kulich, cool, and take them out of the molds.
Step 19
To decorate the tops, prepare the icing.
Step 20
Pour 2 tbsp room-temperature water over the gelatin and leave it to bloom.
Step 21
In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 2 tbsp water and powdered sugar, mix. Stirring constantly, bring the syrup to a boil. As soon as the first bubbles appear, remove it from the heat.
Step 22
Add the bloomed gelatin to the saucepan and mix well until fully dissolved. Immediately whip the mixture on high speed with a mixer. It will turn white, stretchy, and glossy.
Step 23
Ice the kulich while the icing hasn’t set. Wait a bit for it to stabilize. Gelatin icing doesn’t smear or crumble when slicing. This amount of icing was enough for the baked kulich.
Step 24
Decorate the tops with sprinkles or sweet decorations. Sprinkle them on right after applying the icing so they stick. Happy holiday and enjoy!
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