Caramelized Pear and Hazelnut Cozonac
This caramelized pear and hazelnut cozonac is a variation on classic Romanian cozonac, a soft and fluffy braided brioche loaf enjoyed around holidays like Christmas and Easter. This recipe makes one big and beautiful cozonac that can be cut into around 15 slices.
Servings 15 slices
Calories 307kcal
Equipment
- loaf pan
- stand mixer with dough hook attachment
- aluminum foil to cover during baking
- pastry brush
- parchment paper for lining loaf pan, optional
Ingredients
sponge (preferment)
- 100 grams flour
- 100 grams milk
- 7 grams yeast
dough
- 400 grams flour
- 150 grams milk
- 100 grams sugar
- 100 grams butter
- 1 whole egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 vanilla bean
- 6 grams salt
filling
- 2 pears cored and cut into small pieces
- 50 grams butter
- 50 grams sugar
- 1 tablespoon pear liqueur
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 grams fine table salt
- 5 grams sea salt flakes or regular salt
- ⅔ cup hazelnuts blanched and roasted, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 50 C / 120 F.
- Mix up the ingredients for the sponge in a heat-safe container large enough for the sponge to double in size, then put it in the warm oven (50C / 120 F) for 15-20 minutes until bubbly;
- Add the sponge to the bowl of your stand mixer with the rest of the dough ingredients except the butter.
- Start the mixer on low and set a timer for 10 minutes;
- After 10 minutes, set a timer for 20 minutes and begin adding the butter slowly. After a total of 30 minutes of mixing, the dough should have sufficient gluten.
- Proof the dough (in the bowl of the stand mixer) in the warm oven (50 C / 120 F) for 20 minutes. You will need to do 3 rounds of proofing for 20 minutes each, separated by a series of 3-4 'stretch and folds' in between. After the final stretch and fold, leave the dough to cool and rest at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.
- While the dough is proofing, you can make the filling. Combine all the ingredients together (except the hazelnuts) in a skillet and heat over medium, stirring often.
- After about 20 minutes the sugars will have caramelized and the whole mixture will thicken. Set the filling aside to cool while you finish proofing and rolling out the dough.
- Preheat the oven to 175 C / 350 F.
- After the final rest the dough is ready to roll out and shape. Cut the dough into three equal pieces. For best results, weigh the dough and divide into equal pieces. Roll out the pieces one at a time, while keeping the unrolled dough covered so it doesn't dry out.
- Distribute the filling equally on the pieces of dough and spread it out in a thin layer. Sprinkle on the hazelnuts.
- Roll the pieces of dough into carpet-like rolls, then bring together the ends of the rolls and braid them together. Parchment paper can be used to help lift the braided loaf into the pan - see post for description.
- Proof the dough one more time in the loaf pan for 20 minutes, then apply eggwash all over.
- Put the loaf in the preheated oven. Set two timers: one for the total baking time of 45 minutes and another for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, use the aluminum foil to tent the cozonac so it doesn't darken too much. Reduce oven temperature to 160 C / 320 F and continue baking for the remaining time.