Gubana
Gubana (known in Slovene as gubanca) is a festive spiral sweet bread from Friuli, filled with crushed walnuts, raisins, pine nuts, and grappa.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 80 min
- Servings
- 8
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 440 kcal
Equipment
- •22cm round springform tin
- •Rolling pin
- •Mixing bowl
- •Pastry brush
- •Baking parchment
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 440 kcal
- fat
- 22 g
- carbs
- 52 g
- fibre
- 3 g
- protein
- 9 g
- calories
- 440 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Soak the sultanas in the grappa for twenty minutes until plump.
- 2
Dissolve the yeast and one teaspoon of sugar in lukewarm milk.
- 3
Knead the flour, remaining dough sugar, salt, egg yolks, butter, and yeast mixture into a smooth dough.
- 4
Cover the dough and let it rise for two hours until doubled in size.
- 5
Combine the chopped walnuts, pine nuts, soaked sultanas, lemon zest, and filling sugar in a bowl.
- 6
Roll the risen dough on a floured surface into a thin thirty by forty centimetre rectangle.
- 7
Spread the nut filling evenly over the dough, leaving a clear two-centimetre border.
- 8
Roll the dough tightly from the long side into a firm, even cylinder.
- 9
Coil the cylinder into a spiral snail shape and place it in the lined tin.
- 10
Leave to prove for thirty minutes, brush with beaten egg, and bake at 175 degrees C for thirty-five minutes until deep golden.
Chef's tips
Do not roll the dough too thickly, or the finished spiral will bake unevenly. Soaking the fruit thoroughly in grappa keeps the inner nut filling moist throughout baking. If the top darkens before the centre is cooked, cover it loosely with foil for the final ten minutes.
Ingredient substitutions
- grappa → Slivovitz (plum spirit) or dark rum
- walnuts → a mix of toasted hazelnuts and almonds
Storage
Store wrapped tightly in foil or in an airtight tin at room temperature for up to five days.
Reheating
Warm individual slices in a low oven at 140 degrees C for five minutes to refresh the aroma.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Rolling the cylinder too loosely, which causes gaps inside the baked coil.
- •Skipping the second rise, resulting in a dense and heavy crumb.
- •Baking at too high a temperature, which burns the crust before the dense nut centre cooks through.
Serving suggestions
Cooked Gubana?
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