Small Korovai with Roses

Here’s a straightforward request: a traditional korovai with doves, with a few roses scattered around the middle. Another simple request: the korovai will be eaten. Easy, right? Except this combination gives me a bit of anxiety. The rose leaves must mold to the bread. The korovai must be extra fresh. How do I drape the leaves onto the korovai, allowing them at once to dry on the bread without drying out the bread itself? For an edible korovai, time is of the essence!

Thankfully I am getting a bit more comfortable with the “baked on” technique on an edible korovai, now that I’ve had the opportunity to make a few of these. I make most of the decorations in advance: doves and roses (flower heads) in this case. I shape them, dry them out, insert toothpicks and glaze them. The tricky part is to make the decorations that will be draped onto the korovai. I prepare the dough for decorations while the korovai is in the oven. About 5-10 minutes before it is done (I have my leaves cutouts ready), I take it out of the oven and drape the leaves under the roses. Working quickly, I complete the rose decorations and place the korovai back in the oven for a few minutes to finish baking. This allows enough time to partially dry out the leaves – they will finish drying later as the korovai cools. Later on, I finish decorating the korovai with doves I made in advance.

Though it requires organization, this technique works well for a relatively uncomplicated design on a small-ish korovai. I haven’t figured out entirely what to do if someone requests a large three-tier edible korovai with complicated decorations (cascading wheat stalks and flowers, leaves, etc.) I wonder, what techniques have other korovai bakers developed?