Ingredients:

  • 500g all-purpose flour
  • 240ml whole milk, warm
  • 7g active dry yeast
  • 50g granulated sugar
  • 75g unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 5g salt
  • 100g shelled pistachios, finely chopped
  • 100g walnuts, finely chopped
  • 100g brown sugar, packed
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 60g unsalted butter, softened
  • 120ml honey
  • 60ml water
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 0.5 tsp orange blossom water

Instructions:

  1. Bloom the yeast by whisking warm milk (40-43°C) with 50g sugar and the active dry yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.
  2. In a stand mixer, combine the yeast mixture with the remaining flour, melted butter, egg, and salt. Knead with a dough hook for 8 minutes until smooth and elastic.
  3. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.
  4. Prepare the filling by mixing the chopped pistachios, walnuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
  5. Punch down the dough and roll it out into a large rectangle. Spread the 60g of softened butter over the surface and sprinkle evenly with the nut mixture.
  6. Cut the dough into 12-16 equal squares. Stack the squares vertically and place them into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Let rise for another 45 minutes.
  7. Preheat oven to 180°C. Bake the loaf for 35 minutes until the top is deep mahogany brown and the internal temperature reaches 88°C.
  8. While the bread bakes, simmer honey, water, and lemon juice in a saucepan for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in orange blossom water, and chill the syrup completely.
  9. Pour the cold honey syrup over the hot bread immediately after removing it from the oven to allow for maximum absorption via the vacuum effect.