P
Italian · Natisone valleys, Friuli
Pâte Feuilletée alla Goriziana — Gorizia Layered Flaky Pastry Roll
La gubana is the festive pastry of the Natisone valleys of Friuli — a spiral of yeasted or leavened dough wrapped around a filling of walnuts, raisins, pine nuts, sugar, grated lemon zest, and grappa, rolled into a snail shape (spiralling from the centre outward), and baked golden. It is eaten at Easter and Christmas, and in the wine-bar tradition of the Natisone valley (Slovenia border area) a glass of local grappa or slivovitz is served alongside for the traditional 'dunking' — the same ritual as vin santo with cantucci, translated to Friulian terms. The name may derive from the Slovenian 'guba' (fold).
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the leavened dough
300 g
00 flour
Your own market
7 g
fresh yeast
crumbled
Your own market
50 g
caster sugar
Your own market
2
eggs
room temperature
Your own market
50 g
unsalted butter
softened
Your own market
60 ml
whole milk
warmed, added as needed
Your own market
For the filling
150 g
100 g
raisins
soaked in grappa, well drained
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
50 g
pine nuts
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
60 g
caster sugar
Your own market
1
lemon
zest only, finely grated
Your own market
½ tsp
ground cinnamon
Your own market
For the filling (festive version)
40 g
dark chocolate
finely chopped
Your own market
For the filling
30 ml
Friulian grappa
for soaking the raisins; Ramandolo or Refosco grape grappa preferred
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
To finish
1
egg
beaten, for egg wash
Your own market
Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Soak the raisins in the grappa for at least 30 minutes, so the fruit swells and absorbs the spirit's warmth and fragrance rather than remaining tight and raw at the centre. Drain thoroughly — press the raisins firmly against a sieve — and discard the liquid, because any grappa left clinging to the fruit will turn to steam in the oven and make the dough soggy from within.
2
Toast the walnuts in a dry pan over a moderate flame until fragrant and lightly coloured, so their bitterness softens and they smell of warm, roasted nuts rather than raw wood. Chop roughly, then combine with the drained raisins, pine nuts, sugar, grated lemon zest, cinnamon, and dark chocolate, working everything together to a rough, cohesive paste that holds its shape when pressed but releases no moisture to the touch.
3
Dissolve the fresh yeast in the warmed milk — the milk should feel barely warm against the wrist, not hot, so the yeast wakes gently without being killed before it can work. In a large bowl, combine the 00 flour, sugar, eggs, softened butter, and the yeast liquid; knead until the dough is smooth, elastic, and pulls cleanly from the bowl, 8 to 10 minutes by hand, adding milk sparingly only if the dough is stiff. Cover and leave to rise for 1 hour, until doubled in volume.
4
On a lightly floured surface, roll the risen dough to a thin rectangle, then spread the filling evenly over the surface, leaving a 2 cm border on all sides so the filling does not spill and seal the edge shut during rolling. This is where the dish lives or dies: roll the dough into a log starting from the long edge, but keep the roll loose rather than tight, so the interior has room to rise and the filling stays in distinct layers rather than being crushed into a single dense seam.
5
Coil the log into a snail shape — spiralling from the centre outward — on a lined baking tray, tucking the outer end gently underneath so it does not unravel during proving. Leave to prove for 30 to 45 minutes; the coil should look visibly puffed and slightly relaxed at the edges, a sign the dough is live and will open into a light crumb in the oven.
6
Heat the oven to 175 °C, then brush the surface of the gubana evenly with beaten egg wash so the crust bakes to a deep, lacquered amber rather than a dull, floury finish. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the colour is a rich amber across the entire surface — not pale gold — and a skewer inserted into the thickest part of the coil comes out without raw dough clinging to it.
From the canon — Gubana is the festive sweet pastry of the Friulian Natisone Valleys — a coil of leavened dough encasing a filling of walnuts, raisins, pine nuts, breadcrumbs… Gubana — Friulian Sweet Rolled Pastry →
7
Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, so the filling sets firm and each slice holds its concentric rings of walnut-raisin filling cleanly against the golden bread. The gubana keeps for 5 to 7 days tightly wrapped; the filling flavours meld with the bread as it rests.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Friulian grappa distilled from Ramandolo or Refosco grape pomace, used both for soaking the raisins and served alongside; dark chocolate of high cocoa content in the filling; walnuts from the Natisone valley.
02
Estate — Any named single-grape Friulian grappa; good-quality dark chocolate; fresh 00 flour milled for pastry use; unwaxed lemon for the zest.
03
Market — A clean Italian or Slovenian grappa; standard 00 flour; dark chocolate at 60% cocoa or above; dried raisins of good plumpness.
04
House — Any neutral grappa or slivovitz; plain white flour substituted for 00; pre-chopped walnuts; chocolate omitted, producing the everyday rather than festive version.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. Drained raisins press dry against the sieve with no free liquid — the filling will not seep through the dough.
◇Touch. The kneaded dough is smooth and elastic and pulls cleanly away from the bowl with no stickiness.
◇Sight. After the first rise the dough has doubled in volume.
◇Sight. After proving, the coil looks visibly puffed and slightly relaxed at the edges.
◇Sight. The baked gubana is deeply amber-gold across its entire surface; a skewer comes out without raw dough.
◇Where it lives or dies. The roll must be loose — not tight — so the interior can rise freely and each slice reveals the distinct concentric rings of filling that define a properly baked gubana.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sparkling wine
From British Columbia
2023 seven stars VEGA
Township 7 Vineyards & Winery · Naramata Bench
Township 7 Vineyards & Winery · Penticton →Sparkling wine
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
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The whole pairingPillar VII
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