Epiphany Focaccia, also known as “Fugassa d’la Befana“, is a traditional dessert from Northern Italy, prepared for Epiphany day. It is a simple dessert made with few ingredients. The sweet Epiphany Focaccia is made of very soft brioche dough in which a coin, a bean, or dried fruit is hidden. Whoever finds it will have luck and money in the new year.
Similar traditional desserts exist in other European countries: think of the Roscón de Reyes in Spain or Galette des Rois in France. What unites all these desserts, after cookies and traditional Christmas sweets, is that they close all the Christmas holidays with their good luck symbol.
Epiphany Focaccia was also prepared as a leftover recipe. It was used to consume what was left over from the Christmas holidays, like candied fruit, dates, and dried fruit. For this reason, there are many recipes with different variants.
Preparing the sweet Epiphany Focaccia is very simple. The traditional recipe requires long rising of at least 24 hours, thus starting the preparation well in advance. I prepared a “simpler” recipe, which involves direct dough and not the biga. You can use a stand mixer or a Bimby for preparation. In the procedure, I will include the stand mixer procedure and the one for the Bimby Epiphany Focaccia. Of course, you can also knead it by hand, but it becomes more challenging.
Let’s move on to the recipe for Epiphany Focaccia. But first, I’ll leave you with other recipes that might interest you.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 6 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Epiphany
- Energy 567.01 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 86.74 (g) of which sugars 28.40 (g)
- Proteins 14.59 (g)
- Fat 19.07 (g) of which saturated 10.29 (g)of which unsaturated 7.55 (g)
- Fibers 2.66 (g)
- Sodium 23.75 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 163 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 for the Epiphany Focaccia
- 1.6 cups all-purpose flour
- 2.4 cups Manitoba flour
- 0.6 cups granulated sugar
- 7 tbsps butter (soft)
- 1 egg
- 0.84 cups milk (dairy or plant-based)
- 2 tsp fresh yeast (or 3-4 g of dry yeast)
- 1 tsp orange zest (grated)
- 0.7 oz pine nuts (or other dried fruit)
- 0.7 oz raisins (optional)
- 1 dried bean
- 1 egg white
- as needed sugar sprinkles
Tools for preparing the Epiphany Focaccia
- Cake Pan 28 cm
- Stand Mixer
- Brush
Steps to prepare the Epiphany Focaccia
Let’s see how to prepare the sweet Epiphany Focaccia. I will first provide the stand mixer procedure and then the steps to prepare the Bimby Epiphany Focaccia.
In both cases, take all the ingredients out of the fridge about an hour beforehand. This way, the butter will soften, and the other ingredients will be at room temperature.
In a bowl, dissolve the yeast with a teaspoon of sugar (taken from the total) in a small amount of milk taken from the total.
Also, melt the butter using a double boiler or in the microwave for a minute at medium power. Let it cool.
In the stand mixer bowl, add the flour, sugar, grated orange peel, and the part of the milk in which the yeast was dissolved. Start kneading with the hook at low speed.
With the hook running, add the melted and cooled butter. Also add the remaining milk and the egg.
Increase the stand mixer speed and knead the dough for at least 10 minutes. When it starts to bind (i.e., stick to the hook), it’s time to add the candied fruit and pine nuts. Knead for a few more minutes to distribute them well.
Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover it with a lid or cling film, and let it rise until the dough triples in volume.
Once the resting time has passed, transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper.
Using a rolling pin, form a disk about 10-11 inches wide and about 0.6 inches thick. At this point, create the petals by cutting the disk without reaching the center.
To make it easier, make 4 cross cuts first (without reaching the center). On each quarter of the disk, make two more cuts, thus dividing each quarter into 4 parts: this way, you will get 16 petals of approximately equal size.
In one of the petals, “hide” a bean (or a candy) so that it is not visible on the surface.
Roll each petal on itself.
Transfer your Epiphany Focaccia onto a baking sheet, transferring it directly with the parchment paper. You can use a round baking pan of 11-12 inches or place the Epiphany Focaccia with the parchment paper directly on a baking tray.Let it rise again in a turned-off oven until it triples in volume. The rising times depend greatly on the external temperature. It may take 2 hours or even longer if the temperature is low.
Once risen, gently brush the surface with the egg white and sprinkle it with sugar sprinkles.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 25 minutes. If the surface darkens too much after the first 15 minutes, cover it with aluminum foil and continue baking.Let it cool completely before serving your Epiphany Focaccia! Try it, it’s really soft!
Now let’s see how to prepare the Epiphany Focaccia with the Bimby. I will go through the various steps to prepare the dough for this sweet focaccia. The rest of the procedure is the same, so you can refer to the steps found a little above.
In the bowl, add the orange peel and sugar: 10 sec. speed 10. Gather on the bottom with the spatula and then remove from the bowl for now.
In the bowl, add the milk and yeast: 2 min speed 2. 98°F.
Add the very soft butter and egg: 30 sec. speed 3.
Add the flours, sugar with the grated lemon peel: 5 min knead speed.
Add the pine nuts and candied fruit: 2 minutes, Counterclockwise, knead speed.
Transfer the dough to a covered bowl and let it rise until the dough triples.
Then proceed as per the recipe.
Storage
– The sweet Epiphany Focaccia keeps for 24-48 hours. In fact, it can be stored for more days, but after a couple of days, it starts to lose its original fragrance and softness.
– To keep it soft, wrap it in cling film. Do this even if you prepare it the day before.
– If you prefer a longer rise, halve the amount of yeast and double the rising times. The Epiphany Focaccia will be even softer.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Can I make Epiphany Focaccia lactose-free?
Yes, just use lactose-free butter or margarine and replace the milk with a plant-based drink.
Can the sugar sprinkles on top be replaced?
Yes, you can replace them with chopped nuts or colored sugar sprinkles or strands.
Can I replace the pine nuts?
Sure. The Epiphany Focaccia was created as a leftover recipe to consume leftovers from the Christmas holidays. You can replace the pine nuts with other dried fruits or raisins.
