by Joan Saunders | photos by Amanda Cribdon Photography –
I didn’t jump on the bread-making bandwagon when the pandemic hit, nor did I carefully nurture sourdough starter. I’m not sure why I’ve never been someone who is into baking bread, but I have recently come to understand why it’s so satisfying to make and, as a bonus, it fills the house with glorious aromas.
And fruit bread? This I love. I know it’s a commitment, but for a special occasion or holiday it makes a definite statement. I’ve been setting myself some baking goals this year, so making a showstopper fruit bread is something I’ve been wanting to tackle.
It wasn’t difficult; it just takes time for the dough to rise. It tastes amazing at breakfast, for a coffee break, and in the evening with tea. It’s sweet but not too sweet, and the flavours of cranberry, apricot and orange meld beautifully. If you don’t love cranberries, switch them out for raisins. You could also substitute the walnuts with pecans if you’d prefer. But whatever mixture you create, you’ll impress yourself and others with this lovely, fruity, gorgeous couronne.
Apricot & Cranberry Couronne
Dough:
1¾ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1½ tsp fast action yeast (1 sachet)
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup lukewarm milk
1 egg, room temperature, lightly beaten
Filling:
½ cup dried apricots, chopped, soaked
in ½ cup orange juice
1/3 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
3/8 cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup light brown sugar
4½ tbsp flour
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
finely grated zest of 1 orange
To finish:
4 tbsp apricot jam
½ cup icing sugar, sifted
1½ – 2 tbsp water
2 tbsp flaked almonds
Put chopped apricots in a small bowl with the orange juice to plump up.
To make the dough, put the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast to one side of the bowl and the salt to the other side.
You don’t want them to mix together yet.
Now add the lukewarm milk, the softened butter and the egg. Mix the ingredients together with your hands until you have a very soft, sticky dough. Use the mix to pull it all together from the sides of the bowl. Keep going until you have a soft ball of dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for about 5-6 minutes. Keep kneading until it’s no longer sticky and you have a lovely smooth ball of dough. Don’t add too much flour to the work surface as that will make the dough denser.
Put the ball of dough into a lightly-oiled bowl. Turn the dough around in the bowl to lightly coat it with the oil. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for about 1.5 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, make filling:
Drain apricots. Put the soft butter, sugar, apricots, flour, cranberries, walnuts and zest into a bowl and mix well. Set aside until needed.
When the dough has risen, place it on a lightly-floured surface. Without punching it down, as you don’t want to deflate it, roll it out to a rectangle about 14 x 10 inches. Have the long side facing you. Spread the apricot/cranberry mixture evenly over dough.
With the long side near you, tack it down a bit on the counter so it won’t move. Then, like a swiss roll, roll up the dough from the other long side towards you in a tight roll. Roll it back and forth a bit to seal the seam. Carefully transfer the dough onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Now, leaving a bit connected at one end, cut it lengthways in half.
Twist the two strands of dough together, then connect the two ends together, by twisting, to create the crown, or “couronne.” Use pics above as a guide! Gently cover the crown with lightly-oiled cling film and leave to prove in a warm spot for about 1.5 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
While the dough is rising, heat oven to 400°F. When it’s ready to bake, uncover the dough and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until risen and golden. Transfer to a wire rack.
Slightly heat the apricot jam with a tablespoon of water, then push it through a sieve into a bowl. Brush the warm couronne with glaze, then sprinkle on the almonds while glaze is warm. Let cool, then make icing glaze (icing sugar and water) and drizzle it over couronne.
Adapted & combined from:
www.onlycrumbsremain.com/cranberry-and-pecan-couronne/
www.thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/recipes/all/paul-hollywood-apricot-couronne/
www.bookscookslooks.com/apricot-couronne-a-showstopping-breakfast-treat/
