Cinnamon walnut twist bread

Cinnamon walnut twist bread made with laminated yeast dough is the best of both worlds: the rich, buttery pastry from my St. Martin’s croissants, combined with the upgraded walnut filling from my walnut buns. A crisp, flaky pastry crust surrounds a soft, delicate dough with a generous amount of delicious walnut filling. This is a seriously indulgent recipe: the dough contains plenty of butter, stays fresh and soft for a long time, and is generously covered with rum icing and candied orange peel. You won’t find a better recipe! I have already baked mine and frozen them (before icing), ready for their place on the Christmas table. Highly recommended!

Makes 3 cinnamon walnut twist breads.

Ingredients for the laminated yeast dough:

• 250 ml lukewarm milk
• 1 tbsp (12 g) dried yeast or 24 g fresh yeast
• 1 large egg
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 525 g strong white bread flour
• 40 g caster sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 225 g butter, at room temperature (30 g for the dough and 195 g for laminating)

Mix the flour with the dried yeast (if using fresh yeast, prepare a yeast starter first). Add the remaining ingredients and rub together with your fingertips, adding the 30 g melted butter towards the end. Knead very briefly, just until the ingredients come together; the dough should remain sticky. Shape it into a rectangle, wrap tightly in cling film and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

Transfer the chilled dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a 30 × 15 cm rectangle, with the shorter sides at the top and bottom. Spread the remaining 195 g butter evenly over two-thirds of the dough, leaving the top third uncovered, as well as a ½ cm border around the edges. Fold the top third down towards the centre, then fold the bottom third up and over it, as you would fold a letter. Seal the edges well. Turn the dough 90 degrees and gently roll it into a rectangle measuring approximately 25 × 17 cm, using as little flour as possible. The rectangle can be slightly larger, but it should not be thinner than 1 cm. Fold the dough into thirds again and refrigerate for 45 minutes, wrapped in cling film to prevent it from drying out. Repeat the rolling and folding process 3 more times, chilling the dough for 30 minutes between each turn.

After the final turn, wrap the dough well in cling film and refrigerate for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight.

Ingredients for the walnut filling:

• 350 g ground walnuts or pecans
• 150 g chopped walnuts or pecans
• 170 g light soft brown sugar
• 220 ml double cream
• 50 ml rum (or rum flavouring, to taste)
• 4 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix all the filling ingredients together, gently rubbing them together as you mix. If the mixture seems too dry, add a little more double cream and mix again.

Ingredients for the rum icing:

• 160 g icing sugar
• 15 ml dark rum
• 30–45 ml hot water

Place the icing sugar in a small bowl. Gradually mix in the hot water using the back of a spoon. If the icing is too thick, add a little more water; if it is too thin, add more icing sugar. Make more icing if necessary.

To finish:

• 1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, for brushing
• flaked almonds, to decorate
• candied orange peel, to decorate

Method:

Remove the chilled laminated dough from the fridge 20 minutes before shaping the twisted breads. Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces and divide the walnut filling into 3 equal portions. Roll each piece of dough into a rectangle measuring approximately 30 × 25 cm. Spread with one portion of the walnut filling and roll up tightly into a log. Flatten the log slightly.

Using a sharp knife, cut the log lengthways, leaving one end attached, as shown in the photo. Twist the two strands around each other and pinch the ends together. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place to rise for about 40–50 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Brush the risen cinnamon walnut twist breads with the beaten egg and milk and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown, taking care not to let them burn. While still warm, drizzle generously with the rum icing and sprinkle with candied orange peel.

Enjoy!