Chocolate, orange and hazelnut breakfast bread

Chocolate, orange and hazelnut breakfast bread

• 10 Apr 2023

For Easter this year I thought I might make a batch of Pan di Ramerino, Tuscan rosemary and raisin buns, however whilst looking through Skye McAlpines' book 'A Table in Venice' for food and travel inspiration, I spied a recipe for Putizza, a Slovenian bread. It looked intriguing, so instead of making a batch of hot cross buns or pan di ramerino, I decided to make this chocolate, orange and hazelnut bread. 

I've changed the technique a little from Skye's original recipe. I like to activate the yeast when making a sweet dough, just to be sure. I also made the dough, brioche style, by slowly adding butter to the base dough, then I did a few stretch and folds before resting the dough in the fridge.

Following Skye's instructions I made the dough the day before, filled and shaped the loaf, then covered the tin with plastic wrap before refrigerating it overnight. The following day, it took a few hours for the loaf to come to room temperature and to rise before I glazed and baked the bread which came out of the oven in time for brunch. 

Here’s the recipe for you which makes a 23cm breakfast bread. For all my recipes I use a 250ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon, unsalted butter and 60g eggs. My oven is a conventional gas oven so if your oven is fan forced you may need to reduce the oven temperature by 20°C.

Chocolate, orange and hazelnut breakfast bread

Ingredients
7g dried yeast
250ml whole milk 
1 tsp caster sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
470g strong white flour
1 teaspoon salt
70g caster sugar 
70g salted butter, diced 
1 egg to glaze

For the filling
70g salted butter, softened
50g demerara sugar 
50g breadcrumbs
2 tbls milk
70g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
75g blanched toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped 
Grated zest of orange 

50g raisins or sultanas, steeped in 40ml brandy or orange juice

Method
Grease a large bowl and set to one side. Combine the yeast, milk and 1 tsp sugar in a large liquid measuring cup and rest for 5 minutes or until foamy then stir in the beaten egg.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix the flour, sugar and salt and stir on low to combine. Add the egg mixture and mix on low to combine until a dough has formed, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the butter, one piece at a time. When all the butter has been added, which should take a further 5 minutes, increase the speed to medium and beat the butter into the dough, until all the little butter pieces are incorporated. Transfer the sticky dough to the prepared bowl. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Place your fingers or a spatula underneath the dough and gently pull the dough up and fold it back over itself. Turn the bowl and repeat this folding again. Continue 6 to 8 more times, until all the dough has been folded over on itself. Re-cover the bowl with plastic and let it rise for another 30 minutes. Repeat the folding process again then cover the bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for about 1 and ½ hours, until doubled in size. I prefer to leave the dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours to firm before shaping. 

Make the filling 
Beat the butter, sugar and breadcrumbs together with an electric mixer until they form a thick paste. Add the milk and beat again until creamy. Stir in the chocolate, hazelnuts and orange zest, then cover and set to one side.

Grease a 23cm round springform cake tin with butter. Take the risen dough out of the bowl and knock the air out of it. Cut off a third of the dough and roll or stretch it out into a 23cm round. Place it in the tin, then roll out the rest of dough on a lightly floured surface until you have a rectangle, roughly 35 x 25cm. Stir the raisins and their juices into the filling and then spread it over the dough as evenly as you can taking it right up to the edges. Roll it up tightly from the longest side, then cut it into 8 – 10 roughly 4cm wide rounds. Place the rounds snugly on top of the dough in the cake tin, swirly side up. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes until nearly doubled in size or place in the fridge overnight  if you're planning to make this for breakfast.

Heat the oven to 180°C, conventional. Beat the remaining egg and brush it over the dough. Place the tin on the centre rack and bake for 40 minutes or until golden on top, then turn out onto a cooling rack. The putizza is best eaten on the day it is baked.

I had a piece or 2 of the bread, still warm from the oven, for brunch with a cup of tea and it was absolutely delicious. If you increased the amount of filling by 50%, I think you could make a large batch of amazing chocolate, orange and hazelnut filled scrolls from this recipe.

Next Easter I promise I'll make those rosemary and raisin buns. See you all again next week with some more baking from my kitchen.

Bye for now,

Jillian