Ingredients for 8-10 people:600 g plain Flour170 g sugar330 g water approx. warm water170 g candied citron40 g Extra Virgin Olive Oil85 g butter170 g raisins170 g pine nuts25 g brewer’s yeast1 egg yolk2 tsp anise seeds (to taste)
Heap the flour up in a mixing bowl, create a “well” in the centre and pour the brewer’s yeast dissolved in a little warm water into it. Start mixing with a fork, gradually pouring in the remaining water, then continue working with your hands until you have a compact, elastic dough. Cover with a cotton cloth and leave to rise for roughly an hour, protected from drafts. When this time is up, the dough will have doubled in volume. Tip it out onto a work surface dusted with a little flour and flatten it with the palm of your hand. Pour the sugar on top, add the raisins (soaked in warm water for 10 minutes and then squeezed well), the candied citron cut into small cubes, the softened butter (taken out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before) cut into small pieces, the pine nuts, anise seeds and olive oil. Use your hands to knead and amalgamate all the ingredients. Shape the dough into a sort of elongated cylinder, then twist it round – hence the name “Torcolo” (from the Italian “torcere” = to twist) – overlapping the two ends and pressing them together well to form the “wreath”. Transfer it onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and leave to rise again for 2 hours. After this time, brush the surface with the beaten egg yolk and, using the tip of a knife, make five small diagonal incisions here and there. Bake in a preheated oven, at 180 °C, for 45 minutes.
The Torcolo di San Costanzo is a typical cake from Perugia, the capital of Umbria, one of the regions bordering Tuscany. It’s prepared in the period around 29th January, in honour of the city’s patron saint. The small incisions made in the dough before cooking it, represent the five gates of the city.