Pan dell’Orso is a typical dessert from Abruzzo, similar to parrozzo, but differing in the addition of honey and butter, which make the dough softer.
This dessert is round in shape, similar to the small loaves of bread that shepherds used to take with them during transhumance.
The name seems to derive from an event that took place many years ago, when shepherds leaving for transhumance took these sweet rolls with them.
One day, on their way south, a group of shepherds encountered a bear who rummaged through their saddlebags and ate all the bread rolls he found, but left the sheep alone.
Following this event, the Scannese poet Marco Notarmuzi gave this name to the dessert.
Ingredients for Pan dell’Orso
- 6 eggs
- 200 g almond flour or 200 g finely chopped almonds
- 75 g flour
- 75 g potato starch
- 25 g acacia honey
- 180 g sugar
- 80 g butter for the dough + 20 g for the glaze
- a pinch of salt
- flavourings: bitter almond, orange, lemon
- 200 g dark chocolate
Preparation of Pan dell’Orso
To begin, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, then add the almond flour and, using a sieve, the 00 flour and potato starch.
At this point, melt the butter in a double boiler and mix it into the mixture; add the flavorings and sifted baking powder.
Continue by beating the egg whites with a pinch of salt and when they are fluffy, add them to the previous mixture.
Mix gently and pour the mixture into a previously buttered dome-shaped baking pan.
Bake in the oven at 350°F for about 45 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool for ten minutes in the pan, then gently turn it upside down and let it cool in the air.
Store it in the refrigerator for one day.
The next day, melt the dark chocolate with 20 g of butter in a double boiler and use this glaze to completely cover the bread.
Let it solidify… et voilà!
