Fig Square

This is a beautiful yeast bread built on a clever rolled construction. A soft enriched dough with orange zest gets rolled out, spread with a thick allspice-spiced fig puree, then rolled up like a jelly roll. The trick is fitting that long log into a square pan by snipping the corners with scissors so each piece tucks in cleanly.

The dough is half whole wheat, half all-purpose, which gives it some character without becoming heavy. The orange zest is essential. It brightens the dense fig filling and keeps the whole thing from tasting one-note sweet.

The fig filling cooks down with water and allspice until thick enough to spread, with figs mashed during cooking for a uniform paste. Cool completely before spreading or you will melt the dough and ruin the second rise.

The slash marks on top serve dual purpose: they let steam escape during baking so the bread does not split unpredictably, and they make pretty score lines across the finished loaf. A dusting of powdered sugar just before serving turns this into a proper coffee-cake-style breakfast bread.

Pro Tips

• Let the fig filling cool completely. Warm filling melts the dough and the second rise will not happen.
• Snip the corners of the rolled dough with scissors before fitting into the pan. This is the cleverest part of the recipe.
• Make the slashes deep enough to break the surface tension, about ¼ inch.
• Bake until deep golden, not just lightly browned. Underbaked fig square tastes doughy around the filling.

Variations

• Add chopped walnuts or sliced almonds to the fig filling for crunch.
• Sub dates or prunes for half the figs for a different fruit profile.
• Drizzle with a thin orange-juice glaze (powdered sugar plus juice) instead of dusting with sugar.