Caccavelli — Corsican Easter Bread Rings

Ingredients

• 500 g plain wheat flour, strong white
• 25 g fresh compressed yeast
• 1 tsp anise seed, whole, not ground — per 500 g flour
• 1 orange, zest only, finely grated; Cédrat Corse if available
• 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil, Olea europaea
• 60 g lard, rendered Porcu Nustrale fat; fully softened
• 250 ml water, at 26 °C
• 8 eggs, raw, unwashed, at room temperature — for nesting in rings
• For the glaze
• 1 egg, beaten whole
• For the honey-water finish
• 1 tbsp honey, mixed 1:1 with water

Method

1. 1
   Dissolve the fresh compressed yeast in 250 ml water held at exactly 26 °C. Stir until no lumps remain. The liquid should appear uniformly cloudy and faintly yeast-scented within two minutes.
2. 2
   Combine flour, whole anise seeds, and orange zest in a large bowl. Pour in the yeast liquid and the olive oil. Mix to a shaggy dough, then transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead until the mass coheres — roughly five minutes. The dough should feel tacky but not sticky and begin to pull cleanly from the work surface.
3. 3
   This is where the bread lives or dies. Add the softened lard in three additions, working each fully into the dough before introducing the next. Do not proceed to the next addition until the previous fat has been completely absorbed and the dough surface is once again smooth, elastic, and no longer greasy to the palm. If lard is incorporated incompletely, the crumb will be dense and the ring will not hold its shape during the second prove.
4. 4
   Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and allow a first prove at room temperature until doubled in volume. Time will vary with ambient temperature; judge by volume, not the clock.
5. 5
   Divide the dough into eight equal portions. Roll each into a rope approximately 30 cm long and join the ends firmly to form a closed ring, pinching the join to seal. Place on lined baking sheets. Nest one raw egg — shell intact — into the join of each ring, pressing it gently so the dough cradles it on two sides. The egg must be raw at this stage; it will become hard-boiled during baking.
6. 6
   Cover loosely and prove at room temperature for 90 minutes. The rings should increase visibly in volume and feel light and aerated when the tray is lifted. A finger pressed lightly into the dough should leave an impression that springs back slowly.
7. 7
   Heat the oven to 190 °C. Brush each ring lightly with beaten whole egg — a single, even coat applied with a soft brush, taking care not to allow wash to pool around the nested egg or in the join. Pooled wash burns before the interior is cooked. Bake until the surface is a deep, uniform amber and the rings sound hollow when tapped on the underside.
8. 8
   Remove from the oven and brush immediately with honey-water in a 1:1 ratio. The surface should take on a translucent, lacquered shine as the honey-water contacts the hot crust. Consume on the day of baking.