Cozonac
Ingredients
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 2¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 200 ml lukewarm milk
- 4 egg yolks
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp rum (optional), for the dough
- 125 g icing sugar
- 100 ml vegetable oil
- 3 egg whites
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp rum (optional), for the filling
- 120 g ground walnuts
- 1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp milk, for the glaze
Cozonac is the bread of Romanian Christmas and Easter tables, a soft, brioche-like loaf whose slices reveal a spiral of walnut filling. The dough is unusual: egg yolks, milk and rum are kneaded into flour, icing sugar is worked in a spoonful at a time, and finally oil is kneaded in until the dough turns silky and elastic. The filling is a meringue of stiff egg whites, sugar and rum folded with ground walnuts, spread over the rolled-out dough and rolled up. The loaves rise again in their tins, get an egg wash and bake at a low temperature with a pan of water in the oven so the crumb stays moist.
Method
Stir the yeast with 1 tablespoon of the sugar and 50 ml of the lukewarm milk and leave for 10-15 minutes until frothy. Whisk the egg yolks with the salt, the remaining milk and the rum.
Put the flour in a stand-mixer bowl, add the yolk mixture and the yeast and knead for 5 minutes. Add the icing sugar a tablespoon at a time, kneading 4-5 minutes more, then trickle in the oil while kneading for another 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Turn into an oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1½ hours until doubled.
For the filling, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then whisk in the sugar and rum gradually until stiff and glossy. Fold in the ground walnuts gently.
Divide the dough in two. Roll each piece to a 30 x 40 cm rectangle, 3-4 mm thick, spread half the filling over each and roll up from the short side into a thick log. Set each seam-side down in a buttered loaf tin.
Cover with a towel and let rise for about 1¼ hours until well risen. Heat the oven to 160°C (320°F) during the last 15 minutes and set a pan of water on the oven floor.
Brush the loaves with the egg glaze. Bake for 15 minutes, remove the water pan, and continue baking for 45 minutes in total, covering loosely with foil if they brown too fast.
Rest in the tins for 15 minutes, then cool on a rack, turning the loaves every 15 minutes so they keep their shape.
