No Knead Cozonac (Cozonac Fără Frământare)

This no-knead cozonac is a streamlined version of the classic Romanian holiday bread, just made without traditional kneading. The result is a beautifully soft and moist crumb that's far better than store-bought and so satisfying to make at home, even when time or equipment are limited.

This recipe is the same base recipe as my original recipe for perfect cozonac, which was published a few years ago after many rounds of rigorous testing. It's been highly rated since then and so I used it as a jumping off point for this no-knead version.

While the ingredients are the same, I tested a no-knead method to coax out as much gluten development as possible without kneading.

The method calls for a sponge (preferment), resting periods in a warm oven and some strategic folding technique to build gluten quickly and without kneading. Instead of continuous kneading, the dough is strengthened through a series of stretch-and-folds, which makes the process much more forgiving and far less labor-intensive.

This recipe is ideal for those that don't have an electric mixer and don't want to spent a lot of time kneading.

The taste is just how you would expect a traditional Romanian cozonac to taste: rich and pillowy dough lightly scented with citrus, enveloping a creamy and crunchy filling of rum-flavored cocoa and walnuts.

Even as a short-cut version of cozonac, it's much better than anything prepackaged. The crumb is still very moist and soft like you'd expect of any good brioche dough.

Most people won't notice, but in a side-by-side comparison you can probably tell it's somewhat denser than the original recipe. So it's great if you don't have a mixer, but if you do I still recommend the original version because the improved texture is worth the extra time spent mixing.

Quick Summary

• Same dough and filling as classic cozonac, slightly different method
• No kneading required; structure develops through rest and folds
• Pay close attention to temperatures and rest times
• Ideal if you don't own a mixer and don't want to knead
• Slightly less airy than kneaded cozonac, but still excellent

Ingredients

Dough Ingredients

• Flour: provides structure and strength to the enriched dough. Use flour with at least 10% protein (i.e. 10 grams per 100 grams on the nutrition label). Usually bread flour is good. Don't use pastry flour.
• Milk: hydrates the dough and contributes softness
• Yeast: leavens the dough and develops flavor. You can use either dry yeast (active dry or instant) or fresh yeast for this recipe. In my testing, there is no difference in final outcome.
• Sugar: sweetens the bread and tenderizes the crumb
• Butter: adds richness and a soft, luxurious texture
• Eggs and egg yolks: enrich the dough and improve structure
• Lemon and orange zest: Lemon zest is expected in cozonac but orange zest adds another layer of flavor and warmth which I love. You can also play around with this by using zest as well as some homemade candied orange peel. One whole naval orange makes enough candied orange for a very orange forward cozonac. You can also add it to the filling if you prefer.
• Vanilla: I use Nielsen Massey vanilla bean paste but you can substitute it for vanilla extract or a whole scraped vanilla bean. If you use a vanilla bean you can soak the bean in the milk to make sure you get it all. Then use the milk as indicated.
• Rum (or rum essence): Spiced rum / rum essence is a traditional flavor of many Romanian desserts. The classic choice for rum is the Austrian spiced rum Stroh in 38 proof. The alcohol content burns off during cooking so all that's left is the flavor. For rum essence I used Coseli Romanian Rum Essence. You may be able to find this at your local Romanian supermarket (if you have one in your area). You can also use another type of rum essence. If you want to omit the spiced rum, be sure to compensate for the missing liquid with some water (not milk, which will add more protein and fat).

Filling Ingredients

• Walnuts: the base of the filling, rich and nutty
• Sugar: sweetens and softens the filling
• Milk: helps create a smooth, spreadable paste
• Egg whites: bind the filling and give it body
• Butter: adds richness and prevents dryness
• Cocoa powder: deepens flavor and color
• Rum (or rum essence): enhances the walnut-cocoa flavor
• Salt: balances sweetness and intensifies flavor

Traditional cozonac is usually made with this cocoa and walnut filling, and also very frequently with the addition of Turkish delight cut into small cubes.

For a slightly less traditional take, you can jazz up the filling by adding larger pieces of walnuts for texture, different types of nuts, chopped chocolate or chocolate chips, candied orange peel for more orange flavor, or soak a quarter cup of raisins in the rum and milk before mixing it all together for a rum raisin version.

You can also go totally off road and make your own flavor combination, like I did with this Caramelized Pear & Hazelnut Cozonac.

How to Make No Knead Cozonac

Equipment

• Warm setting on oven you can set to precisely 50 °C / 120 °F.
• Ideally oven with convection setting (fan) or otherwise you may need to add more time (see recipe card).
• 2 loaf pans (see size indications below).
• Aluminum foil for tenting during baking to prevent overbrowning.
• Parchment paper for lining pans.
• Pastry brush for eggwash.
• Food processor for cutting nuts to make filling - you can also chop them by hand see below details.

This recipe has been tested for the following loaf pan sizes:

• Small standard loaf pan measuring 25cm long by 10cm wide (internal dimensions), 8cm deep with a capacity of 1.7 liters / 7 cups. Or 9.5" long by 4" wide by 3" tall in US standard measures.
• Large standard loaf pan measuring 30cm long by 12cm wide (internal dimensions), 9cm deep with a capacity of 2.4 liters / 9.75 cups. Or 12" long by 5" wide by 4" tall.

Step 1: Warm oven

Set your oven to precisely to 50 °C / 120 °F). Be sure to be closely monitor this - the margin for error with a no-knead brioche is narrow - a bit of heat helps, too much heat has the opposite effect.

The warm oven will accelerate the gluten formation but if the oven is too hot it can expend the yeast and cause the dough to collapse and fail to rise in the oven.

Step 2: Make the preferment (20 minutes)

You start by mixing a small part of the flour and milk with all of the yeast.

This mixture rests in a warm environment until bubbly and active (usually 15-20 minutes), which jump-starts fermentation and improving flavor and structure later on.

Step 3: Mix ingredients wet with wet and dry with dry

While the preferment is rising, mix wet with wet and dry with dry ingredients.

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. I like to also add the zests to the dry ingredients but it's up to you whether you add them to wet or dry.

On another medium bowl whisk together the eggs with melted butter, sugar, vanilla, rum and rum essence.

Step 4: Mix it all together

Once the preferment is ready, add it along with the wet ingredients to the large bowl containing the dry ingredients.

Mix first with a spoon until the liquid is incorporated and then with your hands until all the flour is absorbed and a smooth ball forms.

Step 5: Warm rest + stretch & folds (70 minutes)

Once you have a smooth ball of dough, you're going to rest it in the warm oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes it will be noticeably fuller.

After 20 minutes of rest in the warm oven, the dough will get a series of stretch and folds. The image panel below shows how to do a stretch and fold (it's a different dough, but same idea).

Three to four stretch and folds should be enough to incorporate air and also lengthen and strengthen the gluten.

You're going to then put the dough back into the warm oven for 20 more minutes, and then another round of stretch and folds. Then once more warm oven for 20 minutes and a round of stretch and folds.

That's a total of 60 minutes resting in the warm oven split into 20 minute periods followed by stretch and folds each time.

Step 6: Prepare the pans and filling while the dough rests

Prepare the loaf pans

Place the loaf pan in the center of a sheet of parchment paper, aligning the long side of the pan with the long side of the paper. With the pan still in place, make four straight cuts using scissors, cutting in toward the pan at each corner.

Each cut should be perpendicular to the edge of the paper and stop at the corner of the pan, removing a small square of parchment from each corner.

When you lift the pan away, you will be left with a rectangular sheet of parchment with four flaps. These fold neatly up the sides of the loaf pan, allowing the paper to fit cleanly inside without bunching or excessive creasing which can leave indents in the cozonaci.

Preparing a parchment paper liner this way takes a few extra minutes but it's worth the time investment because it:

• Helps get the shaped dough into the pan without ruining the shape;
• Prevents the cozonac from sticking to the pans;
• Helps get the finished cozonac out of the pans without having to cut around the edges or bang on the bottom of the pans (been there, don't recommend).

Make the filling

To make the filling, blend all the filling ingredients in a food processor until a thick, spreadable paste forms.

If you don't have a food processor, finely chop the walnuts by hand and mix them thoroughly with the remaining ingredients.

Some size variation is nice, so you can leave a few larger pieces for texture, but most of the walnuts should be chopped very finely - no larger than a grain of rice - so the mixture holds together and spreads easily.

Step 7: Shape the loaves

Divide the dough and filling in two

Divide the dough in two roughly equal pieces. If you want them exactly equal then you'll need to weigh the dough. Just for reference, my own dough usually weighs between 1550-1750 grams (775-875 g per piece) or 3.4-3.9 lb total (27-31 oz or about 1¾-2 lb per loaf).

My filling typically weighs around 800 grams total or 400 grams per cozonac (about 28 oz total or 14 oz per loaf).

Your dough weight may vary due to variation in ingredient weight (eggs, zests, essences etc.) and dough loss to bowl, hook, scraper, hands etc.

Once you've divided the dough and filling in two, lightly flour a work surface and turn out one half of the dough.

For total precision you can divide it up again into 2 equal pieces for a twist or 3 pieces for a braid.

If you aren't too fussed about exactitude then roll out the whole piece so it's about 10 cm / 4 inches longer than the loaf pan on either side. You can then just cut it into 2 pieces for a twist shape or 3 pieces for a braid.

Tip: Once the dough is rolled (or when you start your twist or braid) recommend moving it onto the prepared parchment paper so it's easier for you to move it into the prepared loaf pan.

After you've cut the dough, gently spread the filling on the pieces leaving about a cm or half an inch on one side so it can seal when you roll it up.

You can add any additions you like like chocolate chips or Turkish delight.

After spreading on the filling, roll the pieces of dough carpet-style into rolls, making sure they seal.

If they don't seal easily you can apply a little eggwash.

Once you have rolls, then bring together the ends of the rolls and either twist (if two pieces) or braid (if 3 pieces).

When twisting or braiding, keep in mind that the final shape and size of the loaf should fit into the loaf pan. If it's much wider, you might get some puckering on the edges.

To make a twist shape

Step 8: Final proof and bake

Once your cozonac is formed, you are now almost at the finish line.

One final proof in the warm oven (50 C / 120 F) for 20-30 minutes or until the dough has puffed back up and feels airy and jiggly when gently tapped.

Once the final proof is done, take the loaf out and preheat the oven to 175 C / 350 F with the fan on (convection setting) if you have it. If not, you may need to add 10-15 minute additional baking time at the end - check doneness with a toothpick inserted in the thickest part.

Apply an eggwash to the cozonaci just before they go into the oven.

You will need to do a 2 step bake to get the color just right and to make sure the top doesn't burn.

First, bake at 175 C / 350 F for about 15 minutes or until the top of the cozonac is already turning dark brown. At this point, cover the tops with a sheet of aluminum foil and reduce the temperature to 150 C / 300 F then bake another 30 minutes.

If you don't have a convection setting, they won't brown as rapidly so just keep an eye and see if they need to be covered (they might not need it at all in a non-convection oven).

Serving and storing

Cozonac is usually served as a dessert after Christmas dinner or Easter meals, usually pre-sliced and fanned out on a plate as shown in the photo above. Often the sliced cozonac isn't finished, so it's also enjoyed for breakfast with coffee during the holidays.

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