Pain Hawaiian

I have been wanting to make this bread for AGES, but I had been unable to find macadamia nuts anywhere. I finally found some and was so excited! We had this bread with our "Sunday Soup" and it was perfect.
Sundays are very busy for us, so a few months ago I decided to start making it at least a little easier. Every Saturday night I  put together a soup in the crockpot, cook it on low all night and then keep it on warm for most of Sunday. It makes a great lunch for those that want it, and then dinner for all of us! I have loved it so much when summer comes I think I will do "Sunday Salads." :)
Think of this as a french bread, but with nuts added. It was also yummy as garlic toast on day #2.
Note that it does take a lot of rising time. The sponge rises about an hour, then the main dough 1 1/2-2, then 45 minutes on the stovetop, and then it bakes for 30-35 minutes.

To make the sponge: 2 cups of warm water, to which you sprinkle over the top 1 tablespoon (or 1 packet) of active dry yeast, a pinch of sugar (Or a couple drops of honey), then whisk in 1 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour. (I think whole wheat would also work well)

After 30 minutes to an hour the sponge will be all fluffy and you can add the following: 1/2 a cup of unbleached all purpose flour, 3 tablespoons oil (the recipe recommends almond or walnut oil, but I rarely have these so I just used canola oil), 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped macadamia nuts.  (I just did a couple of pulses in the food processor, it wasn't necessarily coarse, but I liked how it turned out in the bread!)

Then add the remaining 3 1/2-4 cups of flour half a cup at a time. I like to measure all the flour it asks for into a small bowl, that way I don't forget how much I have added and I can just sprinkle a little at a time without measuring...

Knead for about five minutes, dusting with flour as needed. Cover with plastic and let raise 1 1/2-2 hours in a warm room until doubled. During the winter I usually turn the oven on and sit the bowl on the stove top, otherwise it takes much longer to raise.

After it has risen you can shape into either 3 round loaves, or two oblong. Place on a greased or parchment lined pans four inches apart. Let raise another 45 minutes. If you would like you can get your kitchen scissors or a serrated knife and make slash marks along the top, about 1/4 an inch deep right before baking.

20 minutes before baking preheat oven to 450 F if you have a baking/pizza stone, or 400 if you don't. Place the pan in the oven (with the stone on the bottom rack) and turn the oven temperature down to 400 F. Bake 30-35 minutes. Cool.

I let it cool about 10 minutes before serving.

A delicious addition to our sunday soup!