Traditional Easter Mona

Preferment and preliminary preparations

Preliminary handling and yeast preparation.

1. Option-1: refresh the sourdough starter for two consecutive days so that it is very active.
2. Option-1: on the afternoon before, take the sourdough starter out of the refrigerator around midday and allow it to come to temperature for 5-6 hours.
3. Option-1: separate 50 g into a bowl and refresh it with 50 g sourdough starter, 50 g flour, and 50 g water.
4. Option-1: leave the covered bowl out of the refrigerator until the following day.
5. Option-1: refresh the remaining sourdough starter that you keep in the jar as you usually do, and return it to the refrigerator.
6. Option-2 and Option-3: on the afternoon before, prepare the preferment in a bowl with the flour, water, and chosen yeast, according to the indicated weights.
7. Option-2 and Option-3: knead until you obtain a dough that is neither too sticky nor too firm.
8. Option-2 and Option-3: turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead it for 4-6 minutes, until it becomes soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky.
9. Option-2 and Option-3: lightly oil a bowl and let the preferment rest in it, covered with plastic wrap, for 2 to 4 hours, until it doubles in volume.
10. Option-2 and Option-3: after this time, turn the dough out onto the work surface, knead it gently to knock out the air, and return it to the covered bowl.
11. Option-2 and Option-3: keep it in the refrigerator until the following day; it keeps for three days in the refrigerator, or you can freeze it instead of refrigerating it.
12. Option-1: in the morning, refresh the sourdough starter in the bowl again using the quantities indicated for Option-1.
13. Option-1: knead it for 5-6 minutes.
14. Option-1: let it rest for a few hours in the covered bowl, approximately 2 hours before using it to knead the mona dough.
15. Option-2 and Option-3: the following morning, take the preferment out of the refrigerator and let it return to room temperature for about 1:30 hours before using it to knead the mona dough.
16. Option-4: dissolve the fresh yeast in a little lukewarm milk about 30 minutes before using it.
17. Bring the butter to room temperature outside the refrigerator one hour before using it.
18. Sift the flour; if you do not, it is not a problem.

Flavour a little of the milk with the spices

1. Crush the clove and aniseed with a mortar and pestle.
2. Transfer them to the bowl of an immersion blender or to a coffee grinder, add the grated nutmeg and ground cinnamon, and grind everything as finely as possible.
3. Heat half of the milk to about 45 ºC and infuse the spices in it.
4. Set aside the infused milk.
5. You will probably not need to use the remaining milk if the eggs are somewhat large.

Kneading the dough

1. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, honey, softened butter or butter cut into small pieces, salt, the portion of milk with the infused spices or the crushed spices directly, the remaining milk or water, lemon zest, anise liqueur, Muscat wine, and whichever yeast you are using.
2. Stir with your fingers until all the ingredients are well combined.
3. If using a stand mixer, mix with the K paddle or whisk attachment for 4 minutes.
4. Add the eggs and stir until incorporated.
5. Continue mixing with the K paddle or whisk attachment.
6. Add 0.75 parts of the sifted flour, without incorporating it all at once, and continue kneading in the bowl while folding the dough over itself and turning the bowl.
7. Add the remaining flour tablespoon by tablespoon and continue kneading until the dough is uniform and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
8. It may take quite a while to obtain a dough firm enough to remove from the bowl and continue working on the work surface.
9. With the stand mixer, continue with the K paddle or whisk attachment until the dough is well mixed.
10. Replace the K paddle with the dough hook and knead for 7-8 minutes.
11. Knead with the dough hook for 10-12 minutes: 5 minutes at low speed and the remainder at medium speed, until the dough pulls away from the side.
12. If the dough does not pull away from the sides, repeat the cycle: let it rest for 5 minutes and knead it for 5 more minutes, until it releases and forms a ball that pulls away from the sides but remains attached to the bottom of the bowl.
13. When the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl, turn it out onto the work surface and work it by stretching and folding it to incorporate air for about 5 more minutes.
14. Combine stretching with kneading according to the Bertinet method to aerate and develop the dough well.
15. Take the dough from underneath, toward the centre, with both hands.
16. Stretch it toward you while lifting it from the work surface.
17. Toss and slap the dough against the work surface from some distance so that it lengthens.
18. Fold the part you are holding in your hands over the part that remains stretched out on the work surface, and start again.
19. Then shape the dough into a ball.

Second fermentation

1. Let the dough rest in a large bowl lightly greased with oil and covered with plastic wrap.
2. You may choose to give it a long cold rest until the following day and shape the mona the following day as well, or to give it a short rest at room temperature and shape it straight away.
3. If you want to make it the following day, let it rest for 1 hour at room temperature to become active and then place it in the refrigerator until the following day to rest for about 12 hours in the cold.
4. If you want to shape the mona on the same day, let the dough rest at room temperature until it doubles in volume.
5. Option-1 with sourdough starter: it may take about 5-6 hours to double in volume.
6. Option-2 or Option-3 with preferment: it may take about 2 hours.
7. Option-4 directly with fresh yeast: it may take between 1:00 and 1:30 hours.
8. After the resting time, or the following day if you left the dough in the refrigerator, you can now shape the ring.

Shape the ring

1. There are two ways to shape the ring: by widening an initial central hole made in the dough, or by shaping a log and closing it onto itself in a circle, if you want to fill it.
2. For the central-hole-widening method, line the baking tray with parchment paper and lightly grease it.
3. Turn the dough directly onto the parchment paper.
4. Make a hole in the middle with your hands and gradually widen it until you achieve a diameter of about 30 cm.
5. If the dough contracts, let it rest for a few minutes.
6. For the log method, turn the dough out onto the lightly floured work surface.
7. Roll it out with a rolling pin and give it a slightly trapezoidal shape.
8. Place the filling on the narrow part of the base and roll up the dough to form a log.
9. Place the log on the baking tray, on lightly greased parchment paper.
10. Let the log rest for 5 minutes.
11. Close the log onto itself to form a ring.

Third fermentation and finishing

1. Once you have shaped the ring, embed the hard-boiled eggs around it, if you want to use them.
2. Brush the ring with egg yolk lightly diluted in a little water or milk.
3. Let it rest for the third time for 2 hours in a place where it is not exposed to air.
4. You can leave it inside the oven with the oven switched off.
5. When 35 minutes remain before baking, remove the mona from the oven and preheat it to 180 ºC.
6. Before baking it, brush it again with egg yolk lightly diluted in a little water or milk.
7. Place 2 tablespoons of white sugar on a small plate, moisten them with a few drops of water, and scatter them over the mona.
8. Bake at 180 ºC for about 30 minutes.
9. When you remove it from the oven, let it cool on a wire rack.