Italian Almond Bread Recipes

ITALIAN ALMOND BREAD

Steps:

• Place the flour for the preferment in the mixing bowl of a food processor outfitted with a dough hook. Crumble the fresh yeast over it, and pour the water in the bowl. Knead until a nice, smooth dough is formed. Of course, the dough can also be kneaded by hand. Cover the preferment loosely with cling film and allow to rise in a warm, draught-free place for around 30 minutes. Grate the zest from the orange. Cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape out the pulp. Add the orange zest, vanilla pulp and the other ingredients to the preferment and knead to form a smooth dough. Cover loosely with cling film and allow to rise in a warm, draught-free place for around 45 minutes until the volume has doubled. Grease a round tin (approx. Ø 20 cm), such as the lid of the Green Dutch Oven (round), with butter. Fold the edges in to create a nice round ball of dough, and place it in the tin with the overlapping edges facing down. Cover loosely with cling film and now allow to rise in a warm, draught-free place for around 30-35 minutes until the dough has doubled in size.
• Light the charcoal in the Big Green Egg and heat with the convEGGtor and the grid to a temperature of 180°C. Meanwhile, for the topping stir the water into the almond paste and spread the diluted paste generously over the dough. Sprinkle with the shaved almonds and pearl sugar. Place the Baking Stone on the grid and place the tin on top. Close the lid of the EGG and bake the almond bread for approx. 45 minutes until golden brown and done. The bread must feel firm, sounding a bit hollow when you tap it. Remove the tin from the EGG, and remove the bread from the tin.

ITALIAN ALMOND BREAD

Steps:

• Using 2 cups warm water dissolve yeast in a large mixing bowl.
• Add all ingredients, except flour and almonds. Mix well.
• Add 3 cups flour and beat till smooth.
• Add almonds and enough additional flour till dough is easy to handle.
• On a lightly floured board, knead bread till smooth.
• Place in a greased bowl then turn 180 degrees to where the greased side is up, cover and let stand in a warm place.
• When bread dough has risen and doubled in size (50-60 minutes), punch down and divide in half.
• Form each half into a loaf and place each into greased bread pans. Let dough rise till doubled in size.
• Bake at 350 degrees in a pre-heated oven for 40-45 minutes. Baking times may vary. To test, tap top of bread with finger. It should make a hollow sound. The loaves should look shiny and golden brown.
• Remove from pans and brush with warm butter.

ALMOND BREAD

Steps:

• Beat egg whites until very stiff.
• Gradually add sugar and beat until of meringue consistency.
• Fold in flour and whole almonds.
• Put in lightly greased, lined loaf tin.
• Bake in a 325 degrees oven for 40 to 50 minutes.
• Leave in tin until completely cold.
• Take out of tin and wrap in foil and store in refrigerator for one or two days.
• With a very sharp knife cut loaf into wafer thin slices.
• Place on cookie sheets and put in slow oven (250 degrees) for about 45 minutes, until dried out. Cool and store in airtight container.
• Will keep for 3 or 4 months.

ALMOND EASTER BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in the warm water in a 1-cup measuring cup, and sprinkle with the yeast. Stir to mix the yeast into the water, and let stand in a warm place until frothy and doubled in volume, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir together 1/3 cup of sugar, 2 raw eggs, salt, the yeast mixture, milk, and 3 cups of flour in a large bowl, and beat with an electric mixer for 3 minutes to develop gluten. Mix the remaining flour into the batter, and beat until the dough is shiny, soft, and elastic, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Place sticks of butter 1 inch apart between 2 large pieces of waxed paper. Roll the butter out into a square about 12 inches on a side, place the waxed paper with square of butter onto a baking sheet, and freeze for 15 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, turn the dough around to pick up flour on all sides, and sprinkle the dough with flour. Roll the dough out into a rectangle 18 inches square. Brush off excess flour from the dough, if necessary. Peel off the top layer of waxed paper from the butter square. Place the square of cold butter, remaining waxed-paper side up, catty-corner onto the dough rectangle so the corners of the dough extend out beyond the butter. Peel off the remaining waxed paper. Fold the top and bottom points over the butter, meeting in the middle; fold the left and right points over the butter. Pinch the sides and seams of the dough together to enclose the butter in the dough.
• Roll the flat dough envelope filled with butter, seam side down, out on the floured surface to a rectangle 12 by 24 inches, and fold the dough in half (into a 12x12 inch square), then in half again, to make a 6x12 inch square of dough with four butter layers. Chill the dough for about 5 minutes; then roll the dough out again to a 12 by 24-inch rectangle, and fold in quarters as before; chill, repeat rolling and folding the dough one more time. Refrigerate dough at least 1 more hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cut the dough into two pieces (you will see buttery layers). On a well-floured surface, roll out a dough piece into a rectangle 30 by 9 inches; cut the rectangle into 3 long strips, 30 by 3 inches each. Mix almond filling, 1/2 cup of butter, and 1/2 cup of sugar together in a bowl, and spread half the filling mixture all down the center of the 3 strips. Fold the strips over the filling the long way and pinch the edges closed, enclosing the filling in 3 long ropes. Braid the 3 ropes together, and arrange the braid into a ring. Pinch the ends closed. Repeat for 2nd dough piece and remaining half of filling, making two ring-shaped braided pastries.
• Place the pastries onto the lined baking sheets, reforming into symmetrical rings if necessary. Set 3 hard-cooked Easter eggs, wedged between braids, into top of each braided pastry. Brush pastries, eggs and all, with beaten egg; sprinkle with additional white sugar and sliced almonds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until browned and crisp, 40 to 45 minutes.