Greek New Year's Bread

Greek New Year's Bread is an oil-free sweet bread, almost like a cake, made every New Year as a good luck tradition for the upcoming year. My daughter turned my family's Greek New Year's Bread Recipe into an oil-free vegan version of our annual tradition.

Our family has a New Year's tradition of making Greek New Year's Bread every year. Throughout my childhood, my Aunt Alkisty baked the bread for our family. Then, my cousin, Alexis, took over, bringing my family a Greek New Year's Bread Recipe to our home every year before New Year's Day.  Since moving to Arizona, my daughter Kristyn has taken over the tradition by baking our family bread. 

What is Greek New Year's Day Bread?

Vasilopita is a Greek New Year's Day bread or cake in Greece which contains a hidden coin that gives good luck to the lucky recipient.  On January 1, my family celebrates a tradition of cutting the Greek New Year's Bread with a hidden coin.

On New Year's Day, families cut the Greek New Year's Bread to bless the house and bring good luck for the new year.  And if there was ever a year to cut this bread, for good luck, it is New Year's Day 2024.

The Lucky Quarter Baked in the Bread

To hide a coin inside the bread, a coin is slipped into the dough before baking. A piece of bread is sliced for each family member by age from eldest to youngest.

Slices are also cut for various symbolic people or groups, depending on the local and family tradition. For instance, in our family, we slice a piece of bread for the Lord, the house, and then begin with the eldest person in the family to the youngest. 

This year, for instance, my sister got married, so we added her husband to our family list. 

Because my daughter, Kristyn, is vegan, she transformed my Aunt Alkisty's original recipe to 'veganize it.' 

What Does Greek New Year's Bread Taste Like?

Greek New Year's Bread is often referred to as a cake because of its sweet taste. Like a Hawaiian roll, New Year's bread is moist with a sweet flavor. When toasted, it almost tastes like French toast. 

My kids, who usually eat most of the loaf themselves, love to toast pieces for breakfast. And often, they even toast some for dessert. 

Even though the New Year's bread tastes fabulous, the real fun is finding out who gets the quarter for a year of good luck. 

Who Won the Quarter This Year?  

This year, my daughter, Kristyn, got the quarter. It was the first New Year without my mom, which is difficult for all of us as we cut the bread this year.

Vegan Greek New Year's Bread Ingredients

As many of you know, I'm not much of a baker. I love savory food, and sweets don't interest me much. My daughter, on the other hand, is quite a vegan baker. 

• Dry Active Yeast: Dry active yeast
• Oat Milk: I prefer oat milk, but any unsweetened plant milk works fine.
• Sugar: Vegan sugar; yes, it is a thing, and it is unbleached and unprocessed. Also called raw sugar.
• All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour is versatile and can be used for a wide range of baked goods, while plain flour is best suited for delicate baked goods like pastries and cakes.
• Salt: Because salt helps to control fermentation, it's better to catch this one sooner than later in yeast doughs,” says Laurie. Without salt, your dough will rise faster than it normally would, leading to less flavor development and a weaker structure.
• Flaxseed Eggs: Flaxseed eggs combine flaxseed meal (ground flaxseeds) and water. The flaxseed meal absorbs the water and becomes gelatinous, like an egg white. These are a great vegan substitute when you don't want to use a chicken egg in a recipe.
• Orange Zest: Orange zest gives the bread recipe immense flavor.
• Orange Juice: I prefer fresh squeezed orange juice for the best flavor.

How to Make the Greek New Year's Bread Recipe

1. Warm 1 cup of oat milk so that it is warm to the touch but not hot.  You don't want to kill the yeast.  Add the two packets of yeast and one teaspoon of sugar.  Stir and let rise for 10-20 minutes.
2. Make the flaxseed eggs in a separate bowl and set them aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the remainder of the sugar, flour, and salt.  Mix to combine.
4. Create a well in the middle of the flour mixture.  Add the other cup of oat milk (warmed), orange zest, and orange juice into the well.  
5. Once the flaxseed egg has set and the yeast has doubled in size, add these.  Combine by stirring with a wooden spoon.
6. Flour a surface thoroughly.  Place the dough mixture on the surface and knead for 10 minutes.  Add more flour if it gets too sticky.
7. Add the dough to a large bowl.  Cover with a towel and leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours to rise until it doubles in size.
8. Once it doubles, punch the dough down and divide it into two portions. 
9. Flour your surface again and knead each dough ball for about 5 minutes, adding a quarter wrapped in aluminum foil as you knead.  
10. Add a little flour to the bottom of 2 9 inch round pans (to prevent sticking)
11. Place one ball in each round 9" pans.  Put in a warm place and allow to rise for 1 hour.
12. Score the bread with a design of your choosing.  
13. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.  Then turn the temperature and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. 
14. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• Plan ahead; this recipe takes a long time to make. It's a commitment! Don't try to rush or cut corners, or it won't turn out right.
• Wash the quarter and wrap it several times in plastic to keep the bread clean.
• The plant milk must be warm for the bread recipe.
• Allow the flaxseed eggs to sit so they thicken properly before adding to the other ingredients.
• The optimum rising temperature for most doughs is around 22 °C to 25 °C or 72 °F to 77 °F. The yeast or sourdough starter is sufficiently active at this temperature to raise bread, pizza, or bun dough. At higher temperatures, the raising agent is too active, and the dough does not have enough time to develop.

Try starting a fun family tradition, and make this Greek New Year's Bread recipe. You don't need to be Greek to share in the fun!

Vegan Recipes for the Whole Family

If you love this Greek New Year's Bread recipe, give us a 5-star review and comment below. We would love to hear from you!

📖 Recipe

Greek New Year's Bread

Kathy Carmichael

Greek New Year's Bread is an oil-free sweet bread, almost like a cake made every New Year as a good luck tradition for the upcoming year. My daughter turned my family's Greek New Year's Bread into an oil-free vegan version of our family's annual tradition.

4.80 from 5 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mediterranean

Servings 12 servings

Calories 359 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 packages active dry yeast
• ▢ 2 cups oat milk or almond milk
• ▢ ¾ cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
• ▢ 7 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 4 flaxseed eggs 4 Tablespoon flaxseed and 12 Tablespoons of water
• ▢ zest of one and a half oranges
• ▢ 4 tablespoons orange juice

Instructions

 

• Warm 1 cup of oat milk so that it is warm to the touch but not hot.  You don't want to kill the yeast. 
• Add the two packets of yeast and one teaspoon of sugar.  Stir and let rise for 10-20 minutes.
• Make the flaxseed eggs in a separate bowl and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the remainder of the sugar, flour, and salt.  Mix to combine.
• Create a well in the middle of the flour mixture.  Add the other cup of oat milk (warmed), orange zest, and orange juice into the well.  
• Once the flaxseed egg has set and the yeast has doubled in size, add these. 
• Combine by stirring with a wooden spoon.
• Flour a surface thoroughly. 
• Place the dough mixture on the surface and knead for 10 minutes. 
• Add more flour if it gets too sticky.
• Add the dough to a large bowl.  
• Cover with a towel and leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours to rise until it doubles in size.
• Once it doubles, punch the dough down and divide it into two portions. 
• Add a little flour to the bottom of 2 9 inch round pans (to prevent sticking)
• Place one ball in each round 9" pans.  Put in a warm place and allow to rise for 1 hour.
• Flour your surface again and knead each dough ball for about 5 minutes, adding a quarter wrapped in aluminum foil as you knead.
• Put in a warm place and allow to rise for 1 hour.
• Score the bread with a design of your choosing.  
• Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. 
• Then turn the temperature and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. 
• Let cool for 10 minutes.

Notes

• Plan ahead; this recipe takes a long time to make. It's a commitment! Don't try to rush or cut corners, or it won't turn out right.
• Wash the quarter and wrap it several times in plastic to keep the bread clean.
• The plant milk must be warm for the bread recipe.
• Allow the flaxseed eggs to sit so they thicken properly before adding to the other ingredients.
• The optimum rising temperature for most doughs is around 22 °C to 25 °C or 72 °F to 77 °F. The yeast or sourdough starter is sufficiently active at this temperature to raise bread, pizza, or bun dough. At higher temperatures, the raising agent is too active, and the dough does not have enough time to develop.

Nutrition

Calories: 359kcalCarbohydrates: 74gProtein: 9gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.4gSodium: 216mgPotassium: 148mgFiber: 4gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 93IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 78mgIron: 4mg

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Kathy Carmichael

Hi! My name is Kathy, I am a retired high school English teacher & vegan enthusiast and blogger. My entire blog is fully plant-based vegan. I truly believe what we eat & how we live determines our health & the preservation of our planet! 🙂

www.kathysvegankitchen.com/about-me/