Coca de nueces y pasas (walnut and raisin bread)

An orange-flavour sweet bread with walnuts and raisins typical from Valencia. I used wholemeal flour to make it healthier.


Hola!

Today I bring you my plant-based version of a classic Valencian treat: walnuts and raisins bread (coca de nueces y pasas). It is a sweet yeast-leavened bread that is typically eaten at Easter, and it’s similar to hot cross buns in both senses: it’s a sweet soft bread, and although its origin was at Easter, you can find this all year round. The difference is, this is a whole round bun-bread that it has a darker and harder crust but a spongy middle, with raisins inside and crowned with walnuts, raisins and wet sugar. But the best thing for me it’s the orange blossom water infusion that reminds me of my homeland and it makes it special.

BACKGROUND

There is a tradition from Comunidad Valenciana to make panquemado with a few variations. Panquemado means literally “burnt bread” and its origin seems to be from Alberic (Valencia, Spain), where it has been baked since Al-Andalus (the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula from the 8th to the 15th century). Other recipes like Mona de Pascua or this walnuts and raisins bread use a very similar approach. To clarify, it is not really burnt, just dark brown or darker than the usual breads.

This bread is typically found in town bakeries all over Comunidad Valenciana, but more commonly in Valencia’s coastal towns. When I was little, we used to spend the summers in El Perelló (Valencia) and I remember going with my iaia to the horno (bakery) in the town centre to buy this bread. We ate it after lunch with tea/cocoa or for merienda (Spanish afternoon snack). It was so good and we got used to having it as a treat, that even when we stopped going there for the summer, my mum or my sister would drive sometimes from Valencia (30 minute-drive) only to get that bread. 

Nowadays, it’s easy to find this bread in any supermarket in Valencia, but they have the rapid industrial version which makes a bready, thick and too spongy crumb. My iaia always says that it doesn’t need to rise that much, that the authentic one is not as thick but a better texture that you can only achieve with the traditional recipe. The secret for the right sponginess and softness of the crumb is the long fermentation and the kneading of the dough. The preferment helps developing aromas and flavours and it will increase the life of the bread as well. This is why the recipe steps cannot be skipped. The results are worthy!

PLANT POWER, MAKE UP!

As you might have noticed, childhood reminiscence was my drive to veganise this recipe. Just seeing the pictures of it made me drool. And the same as Mona de Pascua, it wasn’t an easy one, because I didn’t only want to veganise it, I wanted to make it healthier. The original recipe has eggs and cow’s milk, which were easy to replace, but my goal was to use less white flour and replace the oil and the white sugar. On reviewing this recipe years later, I wasn’t very pleased with the results so I use now the same dough I make for the monas.

Regarding the fresh yeast, I wanted to use it because I love the smell of fresh bread dough and it reminds me of bread making when we use to do that in school or summer camps. Fresh yeast is easily available in Spain in any supermarket, but in London it took me a while to find it. I found it in Planet Organic, but I’m sure it will be available if you search for it. I gave a dried yeast equivalent below since I tend to use it myself nowadays.


COCA DE NUECES Y PASAS (WALNUT AND RAISIN BREAD)

Makes: 1 bread (8 pieces)
Prep: 45 minutes (+ proofing times)
Bake: 30 minutes


INGREDIENTS

Soaked raisins (overnight)

1 orange, juice
1/2 tbsp. Brandy
100g raisins


Mother dough (overnight)

1/4 cup water, warm
12g fresh yeast or 3.5g dried yeast
100g strong bread flour


Dough

2 flaxseed eggs = 2 tbsp. ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp. water
1 orange, zest
5 tbsp. orange juice
12g fresh yeast or 3.5g dried yeast
3 tbsp. sunflower oil
1 tbsp. orange blossom water (or orange flavouring)
1/3 cup brown sugar
400g strong bread flour


Toppings

Glaze: 1 tbsp. soya milk + 1/2 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 cup walnut halves
A handful of raisins
Moistened sugar: 1 1/2 tbsp. caster sugar + 1/2 tsp. orange blossom water (or orange flavouring)


INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Add the orange juice and the Brandy to the raisins, cover and keep them in the fridge overnight.
  2. To make the mother dough, mix the warm water with the yeast and stir until combined. Add in the flour and mix well. Cover and keep it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, take it out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
  3. Make the flaxseed eggs by mixing the ground flaxseed with water and leave it aside.
  4. Zest the orange into a big bowl. Make the juice with one or more oranges and put 5 tbsp. in the microwave for 20 seconds. Mix in the yeast into the water and stir until dissolved. Strain the soaked raisins slightly and mix them with the flour. 
  5. In the big bowl, add in the oil and orange blossom water to the zest and whisk to combine. Add the flaxseed eggs, sugar and the mother dough. Mix well and add the flour mix in batches until the dough is fully formed. Knead until the dough starts separating from the counter, about 10 minutes. If you use a stand mixer with a dough hook, knead at medium speed until the walls of the bowl are clean and the dough clings to the hook. Make a ball and let it rest covered with a wet cloth until it doubles its size (1-2h).
  6. Smoothen the ball by tucking the edges towards the bottom, flatten it up on a lined baking tray and proof until it doubles its size (1-2h).
  7. Mix the glaze ingredients and brush the bread. Push the walnut halves and the raisins slightly into the dough. Put the moistened sugar on top and bake at 180°C for 30-35 minutes or until it gets golden-brown. Remove from the tray and cool on a cooling rack.

It’s best eaten freshly baked, but you can keep it for 2-3 days or until it gets hard.

Bon profit!