Cardamom Hazelnut Braid

Where have the past days gone?How could this happen? I missed the fourth Blog-Birthday of “Hefe und mehr”!

And I had already a half ready “Happy birthday” post with the delicious cardamom hazelnut braid! A festive bread, perfect for a birthday breakfast!

The idea to put grounded hazelnuts in a bread was lingering in my head now for quite a while and at some point I decided that using homemade nut butter was an even better idea. Using one of my challah recipes combination with some hazelnut butter and dark cacao created a dark braid with an incredible soft crumb and a well balanced taste of nuts and chocolate. The idea to add some cardamom to the dough was rather spontaneously but the taste of it harmonize perfectly with the cacao and the nuts.

I was very pleased with the braid, and to prevent myself of forgetting the blog-birthday again, I have now a reminder in my calendar on my laptop and mobile

Cardamom Hazelnut Braid

Pâte fermentée

• 210 g flour Type 550
• 145 g water
• 1g fresh yeast
• 4g salt

Milk Roux

• 150 g Milk
• 30g flour Type 550

Hazelnut Butter

• 200g Hazelnuts
• 20g cacao

Dough

• 360 g flour Type 550
• 50 g milk
• 8 g fresh yeast
• 7g salt
• pâte fermentée
• milk roux
• 75 g egg (this is about 1,5 eggs, beat them lightly before weighing and save the remaining egg for the egg wash)
• 1/2 Tsp. freshly grounded cardamom
• 75 g sugar
• 60 g Butter
• all of the Hazelnut Butter

Topping

• 1/2 egg, lightly beaten
• pearl sugar

Mix all ingredients for the Pâte fermentée and proof it for 1 hour at room temperature. Then put the dough into the fridge for 12 hours.

For the milk roux mix milk and flour until lump free, then heat it up to 65°C (needs about 3 min) while whisking. Fill the water roux in a bowl, cover its surface with cling foil and let it cool down to room temperature.

For the nut butter roast hazelnuts on low temperature in a pan until their skin starts to come off. Now put the still warm nuts on a towel and rub them with it until they loose their skin completly. Now put all the nuts in a food processor and mix them until their start to relase their oil and the nut butter becomes creamy. Now stir in the cacao.

Dissolve the yeast in milk, then knead in the kitchen machine with eggs, salt, flour, milk roux  and Pâte fermentée for 5 min at slow speed.

The knead 7 min at middle speed. Because the sugar inhibits the gluten development, the sugar is added just now. Add always a tablespoon at once and knead in between always for 1 min. At last add the butter and nut butter all at once and knead until the butter is completely incooperated.

Proof for one hour.

Divide the dough and roll it into 3 strands (each about 30 cm) and braid it. Brush lightly with beated egg and proof for 2 hours.

After proofing brush again with egg and sprinkle with pearl sugar. Bake at 175°C for about 40 min with steam.

I sent this entry to Yeastspotting, Susans weekly showcase of yeast baked good.