Great British Bake Off | 5 Bread Week Recipes

Apricot Couronne

A couronne, or ‘crown’, is a traditional French Christmas loaf – they’re stuffed with fruit and marzipan, making them a deliciously rich and decadent dessert.

Ingredients
250g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
5g salt
8g instant yeast
50g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
135ml warm full-fat milk
1 medium egg, lightly beaten

For the filling
120g ready-to-eat dried apricots, chopped
150ml orange juice (freshly squeezed or from a carton)
90g unsalted butter, softened
70g light muscovado sugar
35g plain flour
60g raisins
65g chopped walnuts
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
200g marzipan

To finish
50g apricot jam
100g icing sugar
50g flaked almonds

Method
1. This recipe needs to start the night before: for the filling, put the apricots in the bowl, pour on the orange juice, and set aside
2. The next day, tip the flour into a large mixing bowl, and add the yeast to one side of the bowl and the salt to the other
3. Add the butter, milk and egg then turn the mixture around with your fingers, continuing to mix until you’ve picked up all the flour from the sides of the bowl. Use the mixture to clean the inside of the bowl and keep going until you have a soft dough
4. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for six minutes, until the dough starts to form a soft, smooth skin
5. When your dough feels smooth and silky, put it into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave it to rise until at least doubled in size – at least an hour
6. While the dough is rising, make the filling. Drain the apricots from last night, cream the butter and muscovado sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in the apricots, flour, raisins, walnuts and orange zest
7. Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface, and roll out into a rectangle about 33cm x 25cm
8. Spread the apricot mixture evenly over the dough
9. On a floured surface, roll the marzipan thinly and lay it over the apricot mixture, then roll up the dough tightly like a Swiss roll
10. Roll it slightly to seal, then cut it almost in half lengthways leaving it joined at one end
11. Twist the two dough lengths together, then join the ends to form a circular ‘crown’. Transfer to the baking tray.
12. Put the tray into a clean plastic bag and leave to prove for an hour, or until the dough is at least doubled in size and springs back when touched
13. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C
14. Bake the couronne for 25 minutes, until risen and golden, then place on a wire rack. Glaze with the apricot jam, drizzle a thin icing over the loaf, and sprinkle with flaked almonds. Leave to cool.