No knead sweet bread (cozonac)
A walnut, orange, and cocoa cozonac recipe, no kneading required, adapted very slightly from Mihaela Ruxanda’s version. Perfect for lazy folks or people who’ve got more time to waste than motivation to knead.
Alright, I probably lost half my audience with that intro!
For 2 cozonaci, about 1.4 kg each:
For the starter (maia):
32 g fresh yeast
50 g flour
100 g lukewarm milk
Mix the lukewarm milk with the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and place it somewhere warm (no more than 30°C / 86°F) for 15 minutes.
For the dough:
275 g cold milk
150 g melted butter
7 egg yolks
190 g sugar
30 g grated orange zest
2 tsp rum essence
2 tsp vanilla essence
7 g salt
Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a whisk.
700 g flour
Pour the risen starter and the wet ingredients over the flour (use a strong flour with high protein) and mix with a spatula until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place (no more than 30°C / 86°F) for 45 minutes, then transfer to the fridge for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.
For the filling:
225 g powdered sugar
45 g cocoa
375 g ground walnuts
2 tsp rum essence
2 tsp vanilla essence
225 g egg whites
Mix everything together with a whisk, cover with plastic wrap, and chill next to the dough.
200 g walnuts
200 g candied orange peel
Chop the walnuts and mix them with the candied peel. Set aside for now.
Assembly:
Divide the dough into 4 parts and roll each into a sheet about 25 x 35 cm. Spread a quarter of the filling (around 210 g) on top, sprinkle with a quarter of the chopped walnut–orange peel mix (around 100 g), and roll it up.
Braid two of these rolls together to make one cozonac. Do the same with the other two to get two total. Place them in 25 x 11 cm loaf pans lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with a 1:1 mix of egg yolk and milk/whipping cream. Let rise for about 1 hour in a warm spot (like the oven with the light on), then bake for 90 minutes at 160°C (320°F), no fan, until the inside reaches about 90–92°C (194–198°F).
For the amount of effort involved, these cozonaci turn out surprisingly good!
