Recipes
Umber Ahmad's Nisu Bread
Ingredients
for the bread
- 1,050 grams all-purpose flour (7 cups)
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 teaspoons ground cardamom, ideally from fresh green pods
- 14 grams dry active yeast (2 packets)
- ¼ cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 250 grams granulated sugar (1¼ cups)
- 100 grams eggs (2 eggs)
- 2 cups evaporated milk
- 113 grams salted butter, at room temperature
FINISHING OPTION 1
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon milk
- Pearl sugar
- Sliced almonds
FINISHING OPTION 2
- 1 shot of espresso or ½ cup of strong coffee
- Granulated sugar
Method
- Make the bread: Open the cardamom pods and separate out the seeds. Using either a mortar & pestle or a clean coffee grinder, grind the seeds well, leaving only a few larger pieces. In a large bowl, whisk the cardamom along with the flour and kosher salt. Set aside.
- In a separate, smaller bowl, pour in warm water. Sprinkle yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar on top of the water. Mix gently and let dissolve and proof.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer affixed with the paddle attachment, beat sugar and eggs together until well combined. Add in evaporated milk and mix. Finally, add in the proofed yeast and mix until combined.
- Swap out the paddle attachment for the dough hook attachment. Add in the flour and mix together. Don’t panic, the dough will be stiff. Add in the room temperature butter, one tablespoon at a time, letting the butter incorporate before adding the next piece. This should take you about 2 minutes total. Continue mixing the dough until it has a glossy finish. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead the dough until it has a very smooth feeling with no stickiness. You can add up to an additional 1 cup of flour, a few tablespoons at a time, if the dough continues to feel sticky with the kneading.
- Place the dough into a large buttered bowl, turning the dough over so all of it gets a bit of the fat on it. Cover with a clean towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk, about 90 minutes. Punch down the dough; let rise for an additional 15 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into three (3) equal parts. Taking one section at a time, divide it into three (3) equal parts again. Roll each piece into a long rope, about 12 to 15-inches long. Braid them together, pinching the ends and tucking them under. Repeat with the other two pieces of dough. At this point, you can either place the loaves in a baking sheet or in individual, buttered loaf pans.
- Let the braided dough rise until puffy, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. During this time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees (350 degrees in a convection oven).
- Finishing Option 1: Before baking the loaves, brush with the egg yolk and milk, beaten together. Sprinkle with pearl sugar and sliced almonds. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Finishing Option 2: Bake loaves as they are (no egg wash) for 25-30 minutes. Once they are removed from the oven, brush the nisu with the espresso or strong coffee. Immediately sprinkle liberally with granulated sugar.
- Note: One trick to test if the loaves are done, knock on the top of the loaf. It should sound sort of hollow. If it doesn’t, continue to bake a few minutes longer.
Divider
Reprinted with permission from Umber Ahmad of Mah-Ze-Dahr BakeryLinks
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