Vrtanek

Vrtanek is a festive, plaited white bread of the Prekmurje region in far northeastern Slovenia, traditionally baked in a round loaf with a thick braid on top. The dough is a simple enriched wheat dough with milk, butter, sugar, egg yolks and yeast, mixed until soft, allowed to rise twice, and then shaped into a flat disc with a separate thick plait laid over the top and a small bun pressed into the centre. The crust is brushed with egg yolk so that, after baking, the loaf is a deep, lacquered gold.

The earliest written record of vrtanek is a 1627 Protestant parish report from Prekmurje describing the local custom of giving a vrtanek as a christening or wedding gift, and the same braided round loaf is recorded in 1698 as torta panis. Today it is the centrepiece of harvest festivals (praznik žetve), confirmation parties, village weddings and large receptions, and is also a common Easter and Christmas bread. Outside the region, the same loaf turns up in neighbouring Hungarian (vrtanék, fonott kalács) and Croatian (pletenica, vrtanjak) traditions, all of which share the central knot and the symbolism of the unbroken braid for a happy household.