When the dough begins to thicken, replace the whisk. I used the mixer attachments for dough. You can knead with a kitchen robot, bread maker machine or by hand. I preferred to use any kind of machine, because in fact this is what the Kozunak needs to have "threads" - kneading and stretching. And so with modern technology we can do it without even getting our hands dirty. 😉

Add gradually the flour and continue to mix. When the dough begins to form a ball in the middle, it is ready. In my case, the kneading so far took about 7-8 minutes and the dough absorbed almost exactly 500 grams of flour.

Now is the time to start adding the oil. Add about 1 tsp. of oil and continue to mix the mixer until the fat is completely absorbed by the dough.

This continues until the dough absorbs all the fat. You see how smooth and shiny it turns out.

Shape the dough into a nice ball and place it in a greased bowl. Cover it with household nylon wrap or a cloth and leave it in a warm place until it doubles its volume. I put it in the oven on a switched light because the temperature at home was not particularly high.

Here is the result after about 40-45 minutes.

Pour the dough onto a greased work surface.

Gently spread it with your fingers.

Make several covers from the periphery to the center.

Gather all the edges.

Form a nice ball of dough. Put it back in the bowl, cover it and let it rise again for about 30 minutes.

This is how my dough "burst out". In my opinion, I had to start with the weaving earlier because the dough became quite risen. It is very important when preparing the Kozunak to be careful not to overrise the dough, because you cannot obtain good "threads" and when the wicks is woven, they could merge. In my opinion, things were just a little bit overdone in my case. But that's the way when we cook at home and we are at work at the same time... Quarantine, what can we do...

Knead the dough lightly.

Divide the dough into 4 relatively equal parts.

From the balls form wicks about 50-60 cm.
You can braid the Kozunak as you like and as you can. I usually weave it into a simple 3-wick braid and bake it in a long cake baking form. Today I decided to show you how to weave a 4 wicks Kozunak for a round baking form.
First, weave the wicks to make a cross.

To do the knitting you have to follow the pictures.
First, take the bottom left wick and rotate it 90 degrees counterclockwise.

Now take the one next to it. You also need to rotate it 90 degrees counterclockwise.

You now proceed the same way.

And again.

Now take the bottom wick again and rotate it 90 degrees clockwise.

Again, take the one next to it and rotate it 90 degrees clockwise.

And continue.

You got the logic, I hope.
Continue twisting this by making about 1 or 2 more turns around the Kozunak. It depends on the length of the wicks.

When some short edges remain, gently push them under the Kozunak so that they are not visible.

Transfer the Kozunak into a a baking pan smeared with butter.
I used a 26 cm diameter cake pan with a removable bottom.

Again cover the Kozunak to rest for another 20 minutes.
Carefully coat the Kozunak with the separated egg-white.

Arrange the walnut between the folds of the Kozunak on top. You can also use almonds.

Sprinkle heavily with sugar.

Bake the Kozunak in a preheated oven at about 160-170 degrees for about 45-50 minutes. Check the inside of the insect with a wooden stick periodically. If the golden crust starts to form on top and it is still crude on the inside and the stick comes out with a sticky dough, you can reduce the temperature slightly and cover the Kozunak with parchment paper so it doesn't burn on top.

Allow the Kozunak to cool for about 30 minutes and remove it from the mould.

Break it and enjoy this taste!
Happy Easter holidays! 🙂