Easter bread Kulich

• Prepare the necessary ingredients.
  

Starter

• We start cooking with the starter. Dissolve sugar and fresh yeast in warm (but not hot!) cream. If using dry yeast, it should be mixed with flour beforehand. Combine cream and flour into a homogeneous mass. Cover the starter with a towel and place it in a warm place for 30 minutes or until it doubles in volume.
  250 ml cream, 11 g yeast, 10-15 g sugar, 170 g flour
  
• As soon as the starter has risen, knead the dough. Beat eggs with sugar until fluffy, adding a pinch of salt.
  4 pcs egg, 220 g sugar, 1 pinch salt, 1 pc egg yolk
  

Dough

• Combine the egg-sugar mixture with the starter. Mix everything thoroughly until smooth and gradually start adding flour in small portions. The dough can be kneaded by hand or with a mixer using a special hook attachment.
  550 g flour
  
• When most of the flour is incorporated, add softened butter to the dough and ensure it is evenly distributed. After that, you can add the remaining flour, but do it carefully so that the dough does not become too dense. Once it starts to come off your hands and the sides of the dish, stop kneading the dough. Note that sometimes this happens before all the remaining flour is incorporated.
  100 g butter
  
• Cover the finished dough with cling film and leave it in a warm place without drafts for 1.5-2 hours. It should rise well, doubling in volume.
  
• You can knead the well-risen dough and add dried cranberries or other sweet filling to it. You can also leave it plain. The pastry will be delicious on its own.
  150 g cranberries
  
• Divide the dough with berries into three equal parts. Shape each part into a neat ball and place it on the bottom of a parchment-lined form. If using a metal container for baking, it should be greased with oil beforehand. The dough should occupy approximately 1/3 of the total volume. Cover the forms with dough with a damp towel and leave them in a warm place for proofing for 30 minutes. Then place them in an oven preheated to 180 ˚C. The Easter bread will bake for about 40 minutes. The baking time may vary depending on the size of the form.
  

Glaze

• While the bread is baking, prepare the glaze for decoration. Beat the remaining egg white with powdered sugar and lemon juice until stiff peaks form.
  100 g powdered sugar, 1 pc egg white, lemon juice
  
• Cover the finished Easter bread with the glaze, and then decorate it with dried berries or any other Easter decoration. Enjoy your meal!