The GUBANA is an ancient sweet leavened bread, shaped like a snail and filled with almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, raisins, sugar and grappa. Typical of the Natisone valleys but present throughout Friuli and, in somewhat different forms, also in Slovenia, it is usually prepared at Christmas or Easter, but also for other important celebrations like weddings and village festivals.
It is a very indulgent dessert with an intense aroma and a truly special taste, as often happens with traditional dishes, which in this case date back to the Middle Ages. The peculiarity of the gubana is that the richness of its filling, with lots of dried fruit, does not detract from the softness of the dough, which remains fluffy and well risen, to the delight of the palate.
It’s an interesting and delicious dessert that I recommend you try. Don’t be intimidated by the several steps: just follow the photo-recipe and you will have no difficulty baking this delight.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 16 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8 servings
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
- Energy 391.48 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 45.49 (g) of which sugars 19.24 (g)
- Proteins 8.87 (g)
- Fat 18.39 (g) of which saturated 3.21 (g)of which unsaturated 7.97 (g)
- Fibers 2.93 (g)
- Sodium 239.15 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 150 g all-purpose flour (00) (about 1 1/4 cups (approx. 5.3 oz))
- 100 g Manitoba (strong/bread) flour (about 3/4 cup + 1 tbsp (approx. 3.5 oz))
- 80 g milk (warm, about 1/3 cup (approx. 2.7 fl oz))
- 10 g fresh brewer's yeast (about 1/3 oz (approximately equal to 1 tsp active dry yeast))
- 1 egg (medium, at room temperature)
- 1 egg yolk
- 40 g sugar (about 3 tbsp (approx. 1.4 oz))
- lemon zest (untreated)
- orange zest (untreated)
- 35 g butter (soft, about 2 1/2 tbsp (approx. 1.2 oz))
- 5 g salt (about 3/4 tsp)
- 100 g walnut kernels (about 1 cup (approx. 3.5 oz))
- 50 g hazelnuts (about 1/3 cup (approx. 1.8 oz))
- 50 g almonds (about 1/3 cup (approx. 1.8 oz))
- 20 g pine nuts (about 2 1/2 tbsp (approx. 3/4 oz))
- 70 g dry cookies (or amaretti, about 3/4 cup crushed (approx. 2.5 oz))
- 90 g raisins (about 1/2 cup (approx. 3.2 oz))
- 90 g grappa (or rum, about 3 fl oz (approx. 6 tbsp))
- 50 g sugar (for filling) (about 4 tbsp (approx. 1.8 oz))
- 1 egg yolk (for brushing)
- q.b. sugar (to sprinkle, as needed)
FOR THE GUBANA YOU WILL NEED
- 1 Pan 8 in
- 1 Bowl
- 2 Small bowls
- 1 Brush
- 1 Rolling pin
- 1 Pastry board
- Plastic wrap
GUBANA PREPARATION
To prepare the GUBANA, first soak the raisins in the grappa for at least 30 minutes. In a food processor place the walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts and pulse them until coarsely chopped. Put them in a bowl and meanwhile crush the cookies.
Toast the pine nuts in a pan for 1 minute, being careful not to burn them. In the bowl with the chopped nuts add the crushed cookies, the toasted pine nuts, the sugar, the well-drained raisins and the grappa used for soaking.
Mix everything well until you obtain a fairly soft mixture and place it in the fridge to rest overnight. If you want the filling to develop more flavor you can prepare it up to two days in advance.
Warm the milk slightly and dissolve the fresh yeast in it. Quickly beat the whole egg and the yolk with the sugar. Combine the two mixtures and set aside.
In a bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the spiral hook, place the flours, orange zest and lemon zest and mix everything together.
Make a well in the center, add the liquid mixture and incorporate it with a fork. Work the dough for 10 minutes until you obtain a homogeneous dough ball.
Add the soft butter, a few small pieces at a time, incorporating it well. Finally add the salt and incorporate it.
You should obtain a smooth and soft dough ball. Transfer it to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a turned-off oven with the light on for 2 hours.
After the 2 hours, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 0.5 cm high (approximately 1/4 in). Cover the base with the filling mixture leaving the edges free. Roll the dough onto itself to form a log. Seal the ends and then coil it to form a snail shape. Make sure the seams are on the bottom of the gubana.
Place it in a greased 20 cm (8 in) pan, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for another 2 hours.
After the second rise, brush the gubana with the egg yolk and sprinkle with some sugar. Bake in a preheated, static oven at 356°F for 35 minutes. If the surface becomes too dark, you can cover it with aluminum foil.
Remove your gubana from the oven, let it cool slightly and unmold it.
STORAGE
The Gubana can be kept for up to 10 days inside a tin box or otherwise well covered.
The Gubana can be kept for up to 10 days inside a tin box or otherwise well covered.
