Prepare the starter. Sift the flour, then add the sugar and yeast at room temperature. I used a measuring jug to better track the rise.

Add the milk and wait 20 minutes until the mixture quadruples in size. Repeat this process two more times, though I’m not sure why.

In a bowl, sift the flour, then add the sugar and salt.

Add the orange blossom water, the two egg yolks, and the starter.

Mix to form the dough. The dough will be sticky and hard to work with. Knead for 15 minutes. You may need to knead longer.

Let the dough rest for 10 minutes at room temperature. Use this time to zest the citrus fruits.

Add the citrus zests and half the butter. Knead for 10 minutes.

At this point, Esbieta would let it rest. But I wasn’t convinced, so I used Xavier Garriga’s kneading cycles:
📌Vigorously knead (slap the dough against the surface) for 7 minutes. Let rest in the fridge for 10 minutes. You can add a little flour if needed.

I did 4 cycles like this in total. This gave me a dough more like the one Esbieta shows in her video.

Knead for 8 minutes, then let rest for 10 minutes near the heat.

Esbieta lets it rest at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours.
I remembered late about the Garriga method (preheating the oven to low, then turning it off when putting in the dough).
So I combined methods: preheated the oven to 120°F (50°C), let the dough rest covered near the heat for 10 minutes, and when the oven was hot, turned it off and put the dough inside for 1 1/2 hours.

Time to decorate: Moisten 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water. Beat the egg and prepare the candied orange slices.

Place the dough near the heat for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 410°F (210°C), bottom heat only.

Bake for 6 minutes, then switch to top and bottom heat.

Lower the temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for another 10 minutes.

Let cool for 30 minutes.

Different formula-

Same as Xavier Garriga’s

Another holiday dessert