SERVINGS
———————SOURCE: GOURMET/DECEMBER 198———————
For the dough: 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast, 1/2 cup lukewarm
milk, 6 tablespoons granulated sugar, 4 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, 3
large eggs, beaten lightly, 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted
butter, softened, 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind, 1/4 teaspoon salt For
the filling: 1 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey, 1
teaspoon vanilla, 5 cups walnuts, chopped fine, 3 large egg whites at
room temperature, a pinch of cream of tartar 3 large egg yolks beaten
with 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon,
melted unsalted butter and confectioners’ sugar for brushing and
dusting the bread Make the dough: In a large bowl proof the yeast in
the milk with 1 teaspoon of the sugar and 1 teaspoon of the flour for
15 minutes, or until it is foamy. Add the remaining sugar, 2 cups of
the flour, the eggs, the butter, the lemon rind, and the salt and
beat the mixture until it is combined well. Stir in 2 more cups of
the flour and knead the dough on a floured surface, incorporating
more of the remaining flour as necessary to keep it from sticking,
for 8 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Put the dough
in a buttered bowl, turn it to coat it with the butter, and let it
rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 1 hour, or until
it is double in bulk. Make the filling: In a large bowl whisk
together the sour cream, the honey, heated, and the vanilla and stir
in the walnuts. In a bowl beat the egg whites with the cream of
tartar and a pinch of salt until they hold stiff peaks and fold them
into the walnut mixture. Punch down the dough and on an unfloured
surface roll and stretch it into a 28- by 20-inch rectangle. Brush
the dough with the egg yolk mixture and spread it with the filling,
leaving a 1-inch border on all sides. Beginning with a long side roll
up the dough tightly jelly-roll fashion and fit it into a
well-buttered 10- by 4 1/2-inch tube pan, overlapping the ends and
pressing the seam against the tube. Let the dough rise, covered with
a dish towel, in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until it
is almost double in bulk. Bake the bread in the middle of a preheated
moderately hot oven (375-F.), brushing it with the melted butter
every 15 minutes, for 1 hour, or until it sounds hollow when the
bottom is tapped. Let the bread cool in the pan on a rack for 5
minutes, turn it out onto the rack, and dust it with some of the
confectioners’ sugar. Let the bread cool completely and dust it with
the
Yields
1 loaf