Gubana (coiled yeast bread with nut and raisin filling)

1 servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient

Directions

KEYWORDS: RAISIN, SJK, SWEET

SERVINGS: MAKES 2 LOAVES

SOURCE: GOURMET MAGAZINE, 02

FROM: SALLIE KREBS

The filling in the recipe below comes from Andrea Purinan, who, with his father, runs 11 Fornaio di Mario Purinan, an outstanding bakery in the lovely town of Udine, capital of the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region. Here gubana and pinza, another sweet yeast bread, are available year round. When I visited one October, Andrea was starting a flour and water mixture that would ripen for two weeks. This "mother," which raises the dough without yeast, was the first step in making gubane for Christmas. Andrea also uses a slow four-rise method for his dough. The following gubana recipe is actually a hybrid, using Andrea Purinan's nut filling and Simone Supanz's dough and assembly method. FOR THE FILLING: 1⅓ cups pine nuts 2 sticks 1 cup) unsalted butter, melted ½ pound almonds with skins (about 2 cups) ¼ pound biscotti or butter cookies ½ cup sugar 1 cup raisins 1 ½ tablespoons cinnamon 2 tablespoons vanilla ½ cup Marsala, or to taste ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons Curacao or other orange-flavored liqueur, or to taste ¼ cup grappa or brandy, or to taste FOR THE DOUGH: 2 packages (about 5 teaspoons) active dry yeast 1 ½ cups milk about 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour ⅔ cup sugar 2 large whole eggs 2 large egg yolks ¼ cup heavy cream or half-and-half 2 teaspoons coarse salt 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest 1 ½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, cut into bits and softened AN EGG WASH MADE BY BEATING: 1 large egg yolk with 1 teaspoon water TO FINISH: sugar for sprinkling the loaves Make the filling: In a heavy skillet cook the pine nuts in 1 teaspoon of the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until they are pale golden. In a food processor pulse the pine nuts with the almonds, the biscotti, and the sugar until the mixture is chopped coarse and transfer the mixture to a bowl. Stir in the remaining butter, the raisins, the cinnamon, the vanilla, the Marsala, the Curacao, and the grappa, stirring until the mixture is combined well, and let the filling stand, covered, for at least 3 hours or overnight. Make the dough: In a small bowl sprinkle the yeast over ¼ cup of the milk, heated to lukewarm, stir in 2 tablespoons of the flour and 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and let the mixture stand in a warm place, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the sponge is double in bulk. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the whole eggs, the yolks, and the remaining sugar, beat in the remaining 1 ¼ cups milk, the cream, the salt, and the zest, and beat the mixture until it is combined well. Beat in the butter and the sponge, replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook, and beat in enough of the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, to form a soft, moist, and slightly sticky dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it, adding enough of the remaining flour to keep the dough from becoming too sticky to handle easily, for 8 minutes, or until it is very smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough to a buttered bowl, turning it to coat it with the butter, and let it rise, covered, in a warm place for 1 ½ hours, or until it is double in bulk. (Alternatively, let the dough rise, covered and chilled, overnight.) Punch down the dough, transfer it to a lightly floured surface, and form it into a smooth ball. Let the dough stand, covered, for 15 minutes and divide it in half. Roll 1 piece of the dough into a 16- by 11-inch rectangle, spread it evenly with half the filling, leaving a 1-inch border on all sides, and, beginning with a long side, roll it up carefully jelly-roll fashion, ending with the seam on top. Fold in the ends to enclose the filling and, working very carefully, stretch the pastry lengthwise from the center, forming a narrow filled cylinder, 24 to 26 inches long. Beginning with one end, wrap the pastry into a coil and transfer it, seam side down, with spatulas to a buttered 9- or 10-inch round cake pan or springform pan (the edge of the coil should come to within 1 inch of the side of the pan but should not touch it; do not tuck under the end of the coil) .

Roll out, fill, and shape another coil in the same manner with the remaining dough and filling and let the loaves rise, covered with a kitchen towel, in a warm place for 1 hour, or until they are almost double in bulk. Brush the loaves with the egg wash, let them stand for 10 minutes, and sprinkle them lightly with the sugar. Bake the loaves in the middle of a preheated 375-F. oven for 20 minutes, put a sheet of foil, dull side down, over each loaf, and bake the loaves for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until they are golden and sound hollow when tapped. Let the loaves cool in the pans on racks for 5 minutes, remove them from the pans, and let them cool completely on the racks.

Submitted By SALLIE KREBS On 12-07-94

Related recipes