Artisan cozonac with hazelnut cream and Ferrero Rocher

Name: Artisan cozonac with hazelnut cream and Ferrero Rocher
Cook time: 35 min
Yield: 1 cozonac · 500 g dough + ~200–230 g filling
Ingredients: 250 g Manitoba flour; 115–125 ml milk (start with 115 ml and add more only if needed); 65 g sugar; 35–38 g egg yolk (≈ 1½ large yolks); 37 g butter (82% fat), melted and cooled; 10 ml oil; 2.5 g salt; 25 g Pasta Madre Ruggeri (10% of the flour); 8–9 g fresh yeast (or 3 g dry yeast); 1 teaspoon lemon zest; 1 teaspoon orange zest; vanilla; a few drops of rum (optional); 150 g hazelnut cream (nocciola); 25 g almond flour; 25 g icing sugar (very sweet, without running); 4 Ferrero Rocher, well chilled

A soft Romanian sweet bread made with Pasta Madre and citrus, filled with hazelnut cream, almond flour and Ferrero Rocher, braided from two rolls.

by Dan Farcaș

Yield: 1 cozonac · 500 g dough + ~200–230 g filling
Rise: 1h45 – 2h30 (two rises)
Bake: 30–35 min at 170°C, top + bottom heat

The final recipe, after several attempts. The dough is enriched with Pasta Madre, and the filling is dense and very sweet so it doesn't run while baking. Braiding two rolls holds up well even with plenty of filling.

Preparation

The dough

Activate the yeast. Mix 30–40 ml lukewarm milk with 1 teaspoon of sugar and the 8–9 g of yeast. Wait 10 minutes, until it foams.
Mix the dry ingredients: flour, salt, citrus zest and Pasta Madre (add it straight into the flour).
Form the dough. Add the activated yeast, the rest of the milk, the yolks and the sugar. Knead for 5–7 minutes.
Work in the fats. Add the butter gradually, in 3 additions, then the oil at the end. Knead until the dough is elastic, glossy, soft and slightly sticky.
First rise. Cover the bowl and leave for 60–90 minutes, until doubled in size.

The filling

Mix the hazelnut cream with the almond flour.
Add the icing sugar and stir until smooth.
It should be thick, dense and spreadable, not runny.
Put the Ferrero Rocher in the freezer for 2 hours.

Shaping

Braiding two rolls, the safe method for lots of filling.

Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.
Roll each piece out into a rectangle.
Spread the filling evenly, in a 3–4 mm layer.
On one of the rectangles, line up the 4 Ferrero Rocher along the middle of the roll.
Roll both up tightly, but without forcing.
Twist them together like two ropes.
Place the braid in the loaf tin.

Final rise

Leave in the tin for 45–60 minutes, until it reaches 1.7–1.8× its volume.

Don't let it fully double: that's how you prevent cracks.

Baking

Temperature: 170°C, top + bottom heat (static), no fan.
Tin position: second rack from the bottom (below the middle).
Time: 30–35 minutes. Check at 30.

If the top browns too much, cover it with foil for the last 10 minutes.

Cooling and storing

Leave the cozonac in the tin for 10–15 minutes.
Then leave it overnight on a rack, wrapped in a towel.