Pinca - Croatian Easter Bread
This sweet bread is enriched with butter and eggs, but it remains soft and fluffy. It has wonderful citrus aromas paired with subtle notes of rum-soaked raising. It's hard to believe but we eat it with the savoury breakfast of boiled eggs and ham.
Servings 8 people
Calories 320 kcal
Ingredients
Sourdough Starter
- 110 g bread flour (i.e. strong white wheat flour) (¾ cup )
- 25 g brown sugar (2 tbsp)
- 35 g active mother sourdough starter (2 tbsp)
- 50 ml water (¼ cup)
Dough
- 500 g bread flour (4 cups)
- the above sourdough starter
- 140 g eggs: 2 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks
- 70 g brown sugar (½ cup)
- 120 g unsalted softened butter (½ cup)
- 10 g salt (½ tbsp)
- 160 ml tepid milk (⅔ cup)
- 120 g raisins soaked in rum
- 90 ml rum (⅓ cup)
- zest 1 orange and 1 lemon
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Topping
- 1 egg yolk
- 6-7 sugar cubes
Instructions
Day 1
- Start early in the morning. Combine all the ingredients to make the sourdough starter. Leave it to double in volume, which may take 4-12 hours.
- Soak the raisins in rum.
- In late afternoon or early evening, begin preparing the dough. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sourdough starter, sugar, salt, spices, milk and eggs. Put the dough hook on and let the mixer work the dough for 2-3 minutes. Low speed. Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
- The next step is to get the butter in. Do it in 2 stages. Pop the first half in and mix it in for a few minutes. Then add the rest of the butter and the plumped up raisins. Let the mixer knead the dough for about 7-8 minutes.
- Transfer the dough into a clean bowl. Cover it with cling film and leave it to proof for 2 hours at room temperature. Then, pop it into the fridge over night.
Day 2
- The next morning divide the dough in half.
- Shape each half into a ball by turning them clockwise and tucking the dough under itself. Cover them with cling film and leave to proof. This stage can last 4-7 hours. Do a sourdough ripe test. Press your finger into the dough. If it springs back slowly and the slight indentation remains, the dough is ready for the next stage.
- Brush pinca with an egg yolk. Then, using scissors, make 3 cuts across the top. Create a star or a y shape. Leave them to rest for 30 minutes to do the final rise.
- Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F. Crush a few sugar cubes inside a tea towel. Sprinkle pinca with the sugar dust and place them in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 180°C/350°F and bake for another 20 minutes.
- When done, pinca is deep golden colour. Leave to cool completely.
Nutrition
Calories: 320kcal