Granita di Mandorla con Brioche col Tuppo

Ingredients

• 250g blanched almonds
• 180g caster sugar
• 750ml cold water
• Pinch of salt
• 100g strong white flour, for the starter
• 100ml warm milk
• 15g fresh yeast
• 200g strong white flour
• 200g plain flour
• 100g caster sugar, for the dough
• 3 eggs
• 50ml milk
• 25g honey
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Zest of 1 orange
• 8g fine salt
• 80g soft butter or lard
• 1 egg yolk plus 1 tbsp milk, to glaze

Before you cook

• Soak the almonds in cold water for 4 hours, then drain them.
• Crumble the yeast into the warm milk and stir until it dissolves.
• Whisk the 100g strong flour into the yeasted milk to make a loose starter.
• Cover the starter and leave it for 45 minutes, until domed and bubbling.
• Zest the lemon and the orange.

Steps

1. Blend the drained almonds with 300ml of the cold water until completely smooth.
2. Strain the almond milk through muslin, squeezing hard to get every drop.
3. Whisk the 180g sugar, the pinch of salt and the remaining water into the almond milk until the sugar dissolves.
4. Pour the mixture into a shallow metal tray and put it in the freezer.
5. Rake the granita with a fork every 30 minutes for about 4 hours, until it is a trayful of fine icy crystals.
6. Put the risen starter in a mixing bowl with both flours, the 100g sugar, the eggs, the 50ml milk, the honey and the citrus zests.
7. Mix on low speed for 6 minutes, until the dough comes together.
8. Add the fine salt, then work in the soft butter a piece at a time.
9. Knead for a further 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, shiny and pulls cleanly from the bowl.
10. Cover the dough and leave it to rise for 2 hours, until doubled.
11. Divide the dough into eight pieces of about 100g and eight of about 20g.
12. Roll every piece into a tight ball.
13. Press a floured finger into the centre of each large ball to make a hollow.
14. Seat a small ball in each hollow to make the tuppo, the little topknot.
15. Set the brioche on lined trays and leave them to rise for 1 hour 30 minutes.
16. Heat the oven to 180C.
17. Brush the brioche with the yolk beaten with milk.
18. Bake them for 16 to 18 minutes, until deep golden and hollow-sounding underneath.
19. Cool the brioche for 20 minutes.
20. Spoon the granita into cold glasses and serve each one with a warm brioche for dunking.