Buccellato

Buccellato di Lucca

A ring-shaped sweet bread from Lucca in Tuscany, enriched with eggs and butter and studded with figs, raisins, candied citrus, pine nuts and aniseed. It keeps for weeks thanks to the dried fruit, and is the signature cake of a Tuscan Christmas table.

Prep

40 min

Cook

45 min

Total

85 min

Serves

8 to 10

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) type 00 flour, or unbleached all-purpose flour
• •150 g (⅔ cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus a little for the tin
• •2 whole (2 large) eggs, plus 1 yolk for brushing
• •120 g (½ cup plus 1 tbsp) granulated sugar
• •180 ml (¾ cup) whole milk, lukewarm
• •15 g (1 tbsp plus 1 tsp) fresh yeast, or 7 g / 2¼ tsp instant yeast; fresh is traditional
• •10 g (2 tsp) aniseed, lightly crushed
• •1 whole lemon, zest only, finely grated
• •5 g (1 tsp) fine salt
• •200 g (7 oz) dried figs, stems removed, chopped
• •80 g (⅓ cup) raisins
• •60 g (¼ cup) candied orange peel, diced
• •40 g (3 tbsp) candied lemon peel, diced
• •60 g (¼ cup) pine nuts, plus extra for decorating
• •40 ml (2½ tbsp) vin santo, or dark rum; vin santo is traditional
• •100 g (¾ cup) powdered sugar, for the glaze, plus extra to dust

Steps

1. 1 Soak the dried figs and raisins in the vin santo (or rum) with 60 ml / ¼ cup warm water for at least 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid, and pat the fruit dry. Chop the figs roughly so they match the raisins in size.
2. 2 Make the dough: crumble the fresh yeast into the lukewarm milk with 1 tsp of the sugar and let it stand for 5 minutes until foamy. In a large bowl, mix the flour, remaining sugar, salt, aniseed and lemon zest. Add the eggs, the milk mixture and the softened butter and bring together into a shaggy dough.
3. 3 Knead on a lightly floured surface for 12 to 15 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic and just slightly tacky; it should pull away from the bench cleanly. Shape into a ball, cover and let rise in a warm spot for about 1½ to 2 hours, until roughly doubled.
4. 4 Punch the dough down and roll it out on a floured surface into a rectangle about 40 x 30 cm / 16 x 12 in and roughly 5 mm / ¼ in thick. Brush lightly with a little of the reserved soaking liquid.
5. 5 Scatter the soaked figs, raisins, candied orange and lemon peel and the pine nuts evenly over the dough, leaving a 1 cm / ½ in border all around. Press them in gently so they stick.
6. 6 Roll the dough up from the long side into a tight log. Pinch the seam to seal, then join the two ends to form a ring, pinching firmly to close. Transfer to a buttered ring tin or a baking sheet lined with parchment, shaping the ring about 22 cm / 9 in across.
7. 7 Cover loosely and let rise for another 45 minutes to 1 hour, until puffy. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180 °C / 350 °F (fan 160 °C / 325 °F).
8. 8 Brush the ring with the beaten egg yolk mixed with a teaspoon of milk. Scatter a handful of pine nuts over the top and press them in lightly so they hold during baking.
9. 9 Bake on the middle rack for 40 to 45 minutes, until deep golden brown and the interior reads 92 to 94 °C / 198 to 201 °F on an instant-read thermometer; if you do not have a probe, the base should sound hollow when tapped and a skewer in the thickest part should come out clean. Tent loosely with foil after 25 minutes if the top is browning too fast.
10. 10 Cool on the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack. While still warm, stir the powdered sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the reserved soaking liquid (or a little water) to make a thin, pourable glaze, and brush it over the ring. Dust lightly with more powdered sugar before serving.