Dough larks in 2020: when and how to make them, recipes for savory buns

In 2020, at the end of March, according to the old Slavic tradition, it is customary to sculpt larks from dough. This fascinating ritual was inherited from our pagan ancestors, but has been preserved to this day without changes. If you don’t understand when and how to sculpt birds, then I will be happy to tell you about the history of the origin of the ritual, and I will also share recipes for savory buns and the tricks for making them. So remember, and then amaze your household with homemade deliciousness.

Almost everyone thinks that larks are usually baked on the occasion of Easter, but this is not entirely true. Although, on Bright Day, you can naturally prepare baked goods and amuse your loved ones. At first, buns were baked in Rus' when spring was fully in its full swing - during the spring equinox. This is a pagan event, which was considered one of the most important of the year, which is why people greeted it with great joy. Then, with the adoption of the Orthodox faith, the tradition did not become as popular as before, but the people (especially the inhabitants of villages) still remember it and continue to adhere to it.

When to bake larks from dough in 2020

At the Spring Equinox, the day was equal in duration to the night, and then gradually increased until summer. Everything around was waking up after a long winter: nature was coming to life, people were preparing for sowing work. The faithful harbingers of spring were the first birds - larks. They returned to their native lands after wintering, and people realized that there would be no more cold weather, which meant winter was behind them.

According to the Slavic tradition of welcoming spring, the holiday is popularly called Zhavoronki; in 2020 it occurs at the end of March, on the 22nd. The celebration also has one name, which is used occasionally - Magpies. There is nothing to do with birds, since the origin here is strictly ecclesiastical. Magpies - a day of remembrance for the forty Sebastian sufferers. The Orthodox respect the date given to us, and in churches they hold memorial services on this occasion.

In Rus', the Larks adored the holiday very much and painstakingly prepared for it. The event was celebrated in a fun way, with loud festivities, songs and dances. Housewives set tables with a huge variety of dishes and certainly sculpted birds from dough. It is necessary to create larks; they symbolize freedom, cheerfulness, and also the beginning of a new happy life. They were sculpted from butter dough so that the buns came out tasty and tender.

Any guest who came to the house took the baked goods and threw them into the air. Whose bun flies higher will have the luckiest in the coming year. Then we drank tea with pastries and ate our fill. It was believed that the one who eats the most will be the happiest. They ate everything except the head, which was left for the livestock. The animals were specially fed so that they would not get sick. The crumbs left after the meal were scattered around the yard for the birds to eat.

How to make buns in the form of larks

Creating birds from plastic mass is not as difficult as it might seem at first. You don’t need to have any special culinary skills, just show assertiveness and accuracy, and then everything will work out by itself. The secret to success first lies in the right mixture of dough. The mass must be plastic and soft, then working with it will be a pleasure. You will need a sharp knife to give it shape, and raisins (you can replace them with prunes or chocolate).

There are three proven methods for creating larks:

The most common solution is to form a tight nodule. A plump, attractive bird emerges. Make a sausage out of the dough, about 15-20 cm long. The diameter should be 3-4 cm. Tie the rope in a knot, and then straighten it slightly. Make a tail and a head from the remaining edges, inserting raisins instead of eyes.
If you have shortbread, lean or gingerbread dough, then working with it is a little more terrible than with butter dough, because it is not so plastic. In order for the bird to come out beautiful and not lose its shape during baking, it would be best to create it in profile. Make a circle out of the dough, then pull the piece back so that the nose and head come out, insert the raisins. Cut the circle a little more than halfway and flip part of the dough over like a wing. Cut the remaining half into 3-4 pieces to create a shaggy tail.
Another easy modeling method is rolling dough into balls. Then they need to be shaped: flatten them so that they come out into round cakes. Divide the circle into 4 parts and select one with a knife. The resulting triangle will be the tail; use a knife to make cuts reminiscent of feathers. Cross the 2 remainders of the circle - these are the wings. Pinch the top of the dough where the wings are located to highlight the head.

Choose any of the methods you like, they are very simple, even a child can do it. Show your imagination, then your larks will amaze everyone. By the way, if you have kids, be sure to involve them in the creative process; they will probably enjoy sculpting spring birds.

Lenten recipe for larks

During Great Lent it is forbidden to eat products of animal origin, I propose to create buns according to this recipe. If you have thought until now that baked goods without eggs and milk are not tasty, I will tell you that you are wrong.

200 ml water;
4 cups flour;
100 g sugar;
dry yeast – 10 g;
salt - a pinch;
raisins – 15 pcs.;
lean vegetable oil – 100 ml.

Dissolve dry yeast and 2 tbsp in 100 ml of warm water. sweet sand. It is better to create this in a spacious bowl, it will be more convenient. Place the dough in a warm space for 20-30 minutes until it doubles in size. Then pour the remaining water, vegetable oil and 3 cups of flour into it. Knead the dough; it will turn out slightly runny.

Delicious “Larks” buns made from yeast dough

You can bake holiday treats from butter dough; it always comes out soft and tastes tender. I use dry yeast, but you can use live yeast, but there must be 2 times more of it than the bulk product. Out of the indicated quantity of goods, about 25 birds come out.

250 ml milk;
tbsp dry yeast;
2 testicles;
150 g butter;
200 g sugar;
a pinch of salt;
500 g flour;
a handful of large raisins.

Warm the milk slightly in the microwave or on the stove. It should become warm, but not hot. Pour approximately 80 ml of milk into a bowl and dissolve the yeast in it. In another cup, mix the egg with a tablespoon of sugar. Pour the dough into the egg mixture, and then the remaining heated milk.

Melt the butter; when it has cooled slightly, add it to the contents of the cup. Add sifted flour in small portions and add salt. Knead a thick plastic dough. To do this, sprinkle your work surface with flour and grease your hands with oil. Place the mixture on the table and remember well for a couple of minutes. Once the dough stops sticking to your hands and becomes pliable and soft, put it in a warm space for 1.5-2 hours.

After the time has passed, beat the risen dough so that it settles properly. Divide it into 25 parts, from each piece roll an oblong sausage 20 cm long. Tie any resulting rope in a knot. Make 3-4 cuts on one side - this will be the tail. Make a nose on the other edge by pressing the dough with your fingers. The lark's eyes can be created from dark raisins or prunes.

Grease a baking sheet with oil and place the birds on it, leaving a space. Take the remaining egg and separate the yolk from the white. Beat the yolk with a fork and brush the dough. The buns will expand as they bake and will stick together if you place them very close to each other. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Serve the treat hot, hot, or a little later, when the baked goods have cooled completely. Bon appetit!

Choose any of the methods indicated in the selection, and you can get started. If you observe Lent, then this is not a reason to give up baking, especially when there is a delicious, proven recipe. For everyone else who is not fasting, on March 22, you can indulge your soul to your heart’s content over tea and tender buns. In any case, you will cope with cooking the first time, and you will not have any problems. Observe the proportions and order of steps, and do not leave the oven unattended, otherwise the baking will burn. Happy spring to you!

Dough larks

There is a custom at the beginning of spring, on the day of the spring equinox, to bake buns in the shape of larks or other birds. Dough larks symbolize the arrival of spring; according to popular beliefs, they bring spring and warmth on their own wings. Usually larks are baked from unleavened dough, they can come in different shapes and sizes. I baked my own larks from rich yeast dough. They came out plump, rosy and very tasty. This recipe does not deal with religious rituals. If you are fasting, bake Lenten buns.

Ingredients

Manufacturing stages

Dissolve sugar and salt in warm milk, add yeast and leave to rise for 15-20 minutes.

Grind butter at room temperature with flour into crumbs.

Pour in milk with yeast and knead the dough.

The dough should be soft and elastic. Cover the bowl with the dough with a clean towel and place in a warm space to rise for 1-1.5 hours.

The risen dough increases significantly in volume.

Divide the finished yeast dough into small pieces. Roll out the pieces into long flagella.

Tie the flagellum with a knot, one end of which will be the head, and the other end will be the tail of our bird.

Create eyes for a lark from raisins (cut large raisins into pieces), and use a knife to create cuts on the tail to represent feathers.

Grease a baking tray with vegetable oil and place the dough larks on it. Use scissors to make small cuts on the sides so that the wings come out. Brush each bird with sweet water using a brush. To make sweet water, dissolve sugar in hot water and cool.

Place the baking sheet in the oven at 190 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Brush the toasted buns again with sweet water. Transfer to a wire rack and cool.

Beautiful larks made from dough are ready.

Bon appetit, please your loved ones!

Larks. Recipes from Sibmam with photos

“Zhavorenki”, “zhuvaryonki”, “zhavoryatochki”, “waders”, “ptyushki”, “birds”, “chuvilki”, “chibriki”, “magpies”, “magpies”, “magpies” - ritual cookies made from unleavened or sour rye dough in the shape of birds, made more often at “Soroki”, from time to time in Sredokrestye, and in the Russian North on the day of Alexei Teply (March 17/30) or on the Annunciation, an attribute of the ritual of “calling out spring” (see Calling out spring).

Larks from Haruka

Water – 1/2 cup,
thick honey - 2 tbsp.,
salt - a pinch,
refined oil – 3 tbsp.,
flour – 1 cup + full 3 tbsp.,
baking powder – 1/2 tsp,
raisin.

Butter larks from Salna

3 cups flour,
125 g milk,
10 g yeast,
15 g butter,
1 testicle,
2 tbsp. spoons of sugar,
salt,
1 tbsp. spoon of vegetable oil.

Larks from Katerina__

Sour cream – 1 glass,
2 testicles,
butter – 50 g.,
0.5 tsp. l. salt and soda,
flour.

Larks from NYUSKA

1.5 glasses of warm milk,
1 packet of yeast,
2 testicles,
1/3 stick of butter,
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 packet of vanillin.

Added flour and kneaded the dough. At the very end I added a little vegetable oil. When the dough had risen, we wound the birds. I greased the birds with sweet water, 5 minutes before they were ready, greased them with butter and sprinkled them with sugar.

Larks from dora22

water – 500 ml,
fresh yeast – 30 g,
sugar – 0.5-0.75 cups,
vanilla sugar – 1 teaspoon,
salt – 1 teaspoon,
vegetable oil – 0.5 cups,
flour – 6-8 glasses,
raisins for decoration,
vegetable oil or sweet tea for lubrication.

Larks from irinagena

3 testicles,
1 cup of sugar,
100 g butter,
50 g yeast for dough,
1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil,
vanillin 1 sachet,
0.5 tsp salt.

My grandmother said that her grandmother used to bake for them when she was a child.
And they ran around the yard saying: “Larks, fly to us.
Bring us a clear spring and a reddish summer.
For children to be happy, for good people to be healthy.”

Larks made from semi-dough dough from Varvara Plyushkin

Fresh yeast – 40-50 g (I took 2 teaspoons from HP)
Water 300 ml
Sugar – 5-6 tbsp.
Salt – 1/3 tsp.
Vegetable oil – 50 ml
Flour – approximately 600 g
I also added 1 egg to the dough.

Larks from monastery dough from Varvara Plyushkin

Sugar – 3 tbsp. l.
Dry yeast – 10 g.
Water – 250 ml.
Vegetable oil – 6 tbsp. l.
Salt 1 tsp.
Vodka – 2 tbsp. l.
Flour - approximately 600 g, do not pour it all at once.

I added 1 more egg to the dough. And instead of sugar I took honey - 4 tsp. And I mixed the water with dark beer.

Larks from Extra

2 large testicles,
150 g milk,
80 g butter,
100 sour cream,
100 g sugar,
about 600 g flour,
1.5 tsp. from a bread machine with dry yeast.

Larks. Lenten recipe from Yazva

a glass of warm water,
0.5 cups flour,
3 teaspoons sugar,
7 g dry yeast.

1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt,
5 tablespoons grows. oils,
3-3.5 cups of flour.

Larks from Svetik_semitsvetik

water – 1-1.5 glasses,
flour -

4 glasses,

sugar – 0.5 cups (for unsweetened sugar dough you need to put 1-2 teaspoons),

salt – 1/4 teaspoon,

vegetable oil – 0.5 cups (or vegetable margarine – 50 g),

yeast (fresh) – 20-30 g.

35-37°C) dilute yeast, sugar, salt and stir well.
Add sifted flour evenly and knead into a soft dough.
At the end of kneading, add melted and cooled vegetable margarine or vegetable oil and knead until the dough begins to stick to the bowl and hands (not very tough).
Lightly sprinkle the finished dough with flour or grease with vegetable oil, cover with a napkin or towel and place in a warm space.
When the dough rises, it must be kneaded and let rise again.
The lean dough is ready for baking.

Dough larks - recipes for making with modeling methods

Hello my dear readers! You see, but almost all ancient pagan customs became characteristic of Orthodox Christians. We bake delicious, beautiful bird-shaped buns. Such dough larks symbolize the beginning of spring and the return of migratory birds from distant wanderings.

Dough larks recipe

Lenten larks

500 g flour.
280 ml warm water.
20 g compressed or 1 teaspoon of dry yeast.
1 teaspoon salt.
2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil.
1 tablespoon sugar.
5 g vanilla sugar.

How to prepare lean dough for larks

Dissolve yeast in 250 ml of warm (25°C) water, add sugar, 2-3 tablespoons of flour. throw until the mass “bubbles”.
Add the rest of the water, flour sifted with salt, vegetable oil, a little carrot juice (for a beautiful color), knead an elastic, non-stick dough. You may have to add a little more flour - its properties are different everywhere.
Place the container with the dough in a plastic bag and leave it to rise in a warm place.
Punch down the risen dough and let it rise again.
Cut the lark buns from the dough using one of the methods suggested below.

Butter larks

500 g flour.
250 ml warm milk.
2 testicles.
60 g butter.
30 g compressed yeast.
4-5 tablespoons of sugar.
10 g vanilla sugar.
1 teaspoon salt.

How to make pastry for larks

Pour warm milk over the crumbled yeast and let the yeast dissolve.
Sift the flour, mix with salt, vanilla and regular sugar.
Create a “slide” of flour and beat the eggs into the middle.
Pour milk with yeast into the flour, kneading the dough; at the end of kneading, add melted warm (but not hot) butter. Knead the dough until it sticks to your hands.
Place the container with the mixed dough in a plastic bag and let the dough rise in a warm place.
There is not a lot of baking in the dough. It will come quite quickly. After the dough has doubled in size, you can begin modeling and baking larks from butter dough using one of the methods indicated below.

Modeling larks from various doughs

Method No. 1

Make a sausage from a piece of dough and roll it into a knot.
We flatten one of the ends of the sausage and cut it - you get a “tail”. We stretch the other a little and sculpt the head and beak.
Let's make "eyes". cut black raisins into pieces. We attach the eyes with a toothpick - prick a piece on the tip of the toothpick and press it into the dough.
Place the molded birds on a baking sheet lined with oiled baking paper. leave to proof for 20 minutes.
Lubricate the surface of the larks properly with beaten yolk with a drop of salt.
Bake at 200°C for approximately 20 minutes until the surface of the dough turns golden. Remember that all ovens are different!
Sprinkle the finished birds with water, cover with a towel, and cool. And then you can help yourself and treat your own household and friends.

Before baking, you can sprinkle all the “larks” with sugar.

Method No. 2

We make a short thick sausage from a piece of dough. On one side we sculpt the head and beak. The other is ivy. From this we will create a tail and a wing.
Cut the flattened side in half. Using a knife we form “feathers”.
We bend the “wing” upward. Insert eyes made from raisin pieces.
Place the bird buns for 15-20 minutes (the time depends on the room temperature).
Before baking, you can grease the larks with sour cream or beaten yolk.
Bake at 200°C for 20 minutes. The finished birds are greased with vegetable oil from time to time for shine.

Method No. 3

We make a loop from a medium-length sausage.
Flatten the ends of the sausage and cut into pieces.
You get wings. On the other side we form the head and beak. Insert eyes.
Place to proof and bake as indicated above.

Method No. 4

Place two dough sausages crosswise.
Ivy two ends of the top sausage and one of the bottom. Raise the second end of the lower sausage above the crossbar and sculpt a head with a beak.
We cut the tail feathers and wings with a knife.
Place to proof and bake as indicated above.

I gave you larks - bake for your health! Involve the little one in the process - kids love such ideas. Happy days before Easter for you! In Transcarpathia, it is customary to give lark buns made from butter dough to godsons and goddaughters on the eve of Easter Sunday.

And on March 22, according to the new style, light a candle and be sure to bake larks from Lenten dough in memory of forty diehard guys!

Dough larks in 2020: when and how to make them, recipes for savory buns