Kalach (food)
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- For other meanings see kalach.
Kalach (Ukrainian: кaлач; Russian: кала́ч), also known in Ukrainian as kolach), is a traditional East Slavic bread used at various ritual meals. It name came from the Old Slavonic word kolo (коло) meaning "circle", "wheel".
A man who made kalaches was called a калачник (kalachnik), which sometimes by sandhi effect became калашник, and sometimes such a man's descendants thus got the surname Калачник (Kalachnik) or Калашник (Kalashnik), or in Russian Калашников (Kalashnikov) (= "[son] of the kalach-maker").
[edit] Ukrainian tradition
Ukrainian kolachi (plural) are traditionally made by braiding dough made with wheat flour into ring-shaped or oblong forms.
It is a symbol of luck, prosperity, and good bounty. It is traditionally prepared for Svyat Vechir (Holy Supper), the traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve ritual, most often 3 round breads stacked one atop the other with a candle in the middle.
Kolaches are also featured at memorial services.
[edit] Russian tradition
The Russian word калач (kalách, kolach) is the Russian word for a specific type of twisted white bread. In former times калач meant any kind of white bread, and before modern methods of grinding wheat came into use, white bread was classed as a type of fancy bread.
[edit] See also
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