Recipe: Traditional Coca amb Cireres

You may not often come across this tasty coca (sweet bread) in Barcelona, but as you head south you'll find it in most bakeries once cherries are in season. It's particularly popular in the Baix Camp (just south of Tarragona), where it's traditionally eaten for Corpus Christi.

The coca amb cireres (sweet bread with cherries) comes in many shapes and sizes, and can be made using a spongy cake base similar to the cóc de brossat, or a naturally leavened and lightly sweetened bread dough. This recipe uses a brioche base which falls somewhere in between the two, and is most similar to what you'll find in most bakeries.

In researching this recipe, I came across widely varying ingredients, including a full "measure" of dry white wine or sometimes a full measure of anise liquor—or both! Others flavored the dough with cinnamon, orange water, rose water, vanilla or citrus zest. Not being a big fan of anise—which would be the most "authentic" flavor—I opted for an orange and lemon zest combination with vanilla.

INGREDIENTS

• 120 g milk, lukewarm
• 50 g fresh yeast
• 500 g bread flour
• 100 g sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 10 g vermouth (from Reus, of course!)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• zest of one lemon
• zest of one orange
• 100 g cold butter, cut in small cubes

Topping

• sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 500 g pitted cherries

METHOD

1. Crumble the yeast cakes in the lukewarm milk and set aside to dissolve.
2. Place flour, sugar, salt, eggs, vermouth, vanilla, lemon zest and orange zest in a medium to large mixing bowl.
3. Once the yeast is dissolved in the milk, add this mixture to the mixing bowl as well.
4. Using the dough hooks, blend with stand mixer or hand mixer on low until ingredients are just mixed.
5. With the mixer on low, slowly add the butter two or three cubes at a time, blending the butter into the dough before adding more.
6. When all the butter has been incorporated, continue to blend the dough on low to medium speed until it is elastic and glossy. This may take 10 to 15 minutes, so if your mixer is getting overheated you may need to let it rest a few minutes before continuing. If the dough seems too dry you can add a tablespoon or two of milk, as needed.
7. Once the dough has reached the desired consistency, cover the bowl with a clean, damp dish towel and set in a warm area away from drafts. Allow to rise until dough is doubled in size—from 45 minutes to an hour and 30 minutes, depending on how warm the room is.
8. Punch dough down and separate into two dough balls (or more if you want smaller loaves), cover and place in the refrigerator to rest for 20-30 minutes.
9. This recipe makes two large loaves, so I recommend using a separate baking sheet for each loaf. Place a sheet of baking parchment on each baking sheet and then shape the dough on each one.
10. Place the pitted cherries on top of the dough and allow to rise for 20-30 minutes. You don't want the dough to rise too much, or the dough will lose its elasticity and become crumbly when baked. If you don't have a cherry pitter, here's a quick guide to pitting cherries from The Spruce Eats that requires only a wine bottle and a chopstick.
11. Preheat oven to 210°C.
12. Brush each loaf gently with a beaten egg and then sprinkle generously with sugar.
13. Place the cookie sheets in the center of the oven and bake for 5 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 180°C and bake for another 8-12  minutes. Keep an eye on the loaves, you want to remove them from the oven when they golden brown—if you over-bake them the loaves will be dry.

Allow to cool completely on a rack before cutting. Once cooled, serve and enjoy!