Romanian Walnut Sweet Bread (Cozonac)

How to prepare romanian walnut sweet bread (cozonac)

1. It is important that the house is warm and that you close the kitchen door to avoid drafts. All ingredients should be at room temperature, except the milk which should be warm, but not hot.
2. Mix all the starter ingredients until the yeast dissolves.
3. Put the flour in a large basin and make a well in the middle. Pour the starter into that well. Let it sit for about 30 minutes, until the yeast activates - you will see that the starter becomes foamy.
4. Add the milk, the 200 g of sugar, the salt (on the edge, not directly over the starter) and start kneading the dough until it becomes fairly uniform.
5. Then add the beaten eggs and knead again until the eggs are fully incorporated.
6. Add the butter (or margarine) and knead again until the butter is no longer visible.
8. Finally add the oil, lemon zest, and rum essence and knead for about 30 minutes, until the dough is not sticky at all and the bottom and sides of the kneading bowl are clean.
9. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and leave in a warm place to rise for 2 hours. The dough should triple in volume.
10. On a work surface dusted with flour, divide the dough into 10 equal pieces.
11. Knead each piece lightly, just enough to give it a round shape, like a roll. Place the pieces on a large clean towel. Cover with another towel and let rise for 30 minutes.
12. Mix the filling ingredients. Taste the filling and add more sugar if you want it sweeter.
14. Grease 5 wide pans with high sides well with oil, including the edges (if making fewer cozonacs, use loaf pans for better appearance).
15. Take each piece of dough and roll it out into a thin sheet about a finger thick.
16. Put filling on the sheet, as much as you can grab with both fists. Spread the filling evenly over the dough.
17. Roll up the dough, gently so the filling does not come out.
18. Place the cozonacs in the pan, spaced apart from each other.
20. Cover the cozonacs with cotton towels and let rise again for 1 hour.
21. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C.
22. Brush the cozonacs with the eggs beaten with sour cream. You can brush them with your hand, no brush needed.
23. Bake for 1 hour, until golden brown on top.

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