When the clock strikes midnight, the lights are turned off and then turned on again to mark the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year. The Vasilopita is cut into slices. Inside the Vasilopita there is a hidden gold coin. The custom is, whoever finds the gold coin in their slice of bread, will have good luck for the whole year.
I tried my hand at making Vasilopita this year, and was shocked at how easy it is to make. There is quite a bit of time spent waiting for the dough to rise. Other than that, it's pretty simple.
Here's the recipe I used from the Greek cookbook that I have: From a Traditional Greek Kitchen: Vegetarian Cuisine by Aphrodite Polemis.
Vasilopita
(St. Basil's Bread)
ingredients:
3 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
2 cups honey
2 TBSP mahlepi powder *
pinch of salt
2-3 pkgs dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
9 cups unbleached flour
directions:
Heat milk to scalding. Remove pan from heat and add butter, honey, mahlepi and salt. Let cool to Lukewarm.
Dissolve yeast in warm water and add to lukewarm milk. Transfer to a large bowl.
Gradually stir in flour and mix until a soft elastic dough forms. It should not be firm.
Cover with wax paper and towels and let stand in warm place for 3-4 hours or until dough doubles in bulk. Punch down dough and knead.
Divide dough into 3 parts. Make a braid from each part and then circle the braid until the ends touch. Place in individual greased 9" baking pans. Let stand again in warm place until dough rises to almost double (about 1 1/2 hours).
Brush with a little butter and bake in preheated 350F oven until top is deep chestnut color, 45-60 minutes. Check every 15 minutes and if the color is darkening too quickly, reduce heat to 325F.
Cool in the pans for 10 minutes and then invert on a rack to finish cooling.
*can find this in a Greek grocery store. Mine came whole and I had to grind up to a powder.
*I think I used about 7-8 cups of flour.
If you decide to make Vasilopita, let me know how yours turns out!
Happy New Year!
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