I am back with another beautiful bread this month – the very Spanish Ensaimadas which is a sweet, spiral shaped pastry made with flour, eggs, milk and lard (replaced by butter in the modern version).
This month avani Nandula of Cook’s Hideout chose ‘Family Feast Breads’ as the theme for Bread Bakers, a group of bread enthusiasts with whom I bake every month. Pavani suggested that we bake loaves, rolls or any sort of bread that we’d like to bring to a family celebratory dinner or feast. Now since the festive season is on and Christmas is just around the corner I wanted to pick a bread that was celebratory enough but not too rich, complex or fancy as these breads are rarely eaten by my family. I had to choose something that would be enjoyed by them and could be made easily and I chanced upon this recipe in The Bread Bible by Christine Ingram & Jennie Shapter. I had bookmarked it a while ago simply because these rolls looked so beautiful. I am so glad that they turned out just as beautiful and delicious! These are definitely something I would make for a celebratory meal or eat for breakfast when I am in the mood to indulge. So yeah, it fits the theme so perfectly today! Thank you Pavani for this lovely theme! If you’d like to see what the other bakers are baking today, scroll down to the bottom of this post to access the links to their posts!
Ensaimada (pronounced as ‘en-sai-ma-dha‘) is a popular breakfast/snack or a dessert bread that is pretty popular in countries that were prior Spanish colonies so you will find variants of the traditional pastry in Philippines and Puerto Rico as well. They are also called as Ensaïmada de Mallorca which means the sweet bread of Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain. And by the way, Mallorca is also spelled as Majorca but is pronounced as ‘mah-york-ah‘ as the as the double L in Spanish is pronounced like the English ‘Y’. So now that I’ve given you your grammar/pronunciation lessons let’s proceed 🙂
The ensaimada derives its name from the Catalan word ‘saiim’ which means pork lard (from the Arab word ‘shahim’ meaning ‘fat’) that was used in making the roll. It is believed to have been brought to the Spaniards from the Moors, as the coiled shape resembles the Moorish turban. The Moors by the way, were medieval Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta, who invaded the Iberian Peninsula, an area which is today Gibraltar, most of Spain and Portugal and parts of Southern France.
There are times when I am not very sure if my family will like the sweet breads that I make especially because they either like plain ones or the stuffed/savoury ones but I was completely surprised when the hubby said that these were so delicious, among the best he’d ever eaten! “Likewise”, I said! These were definitely the nicest kind of rolls/buns that I had ever eaten. The addition of egg definitely added to the taste and texture and the icing sugar simply complemented the existing sweetness without overdoing it.
If you like to try out something new and pretty, you must make these buns. The snail-like shape will delight little ones and so with its taste. I am definitely going to add them to my favourites and will make them again. Do note that they taste best when fresh and warm (if you want to enjoy the texture). The taste however does not get affected if you keep it overnight but it is best to enjoy them while they are still warm.
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Mallorcan Ensaimadas
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 45 mins
Total Time
2 hrs
Traditional spiral shaped breads of Mallorca, from the Balearic Islands of Spain are sprinkled with sugar and make for a delicious breakfast or anytime treat
Course:
Breads
Servings: 16 breads
Ingredients
- 225 grams (8 oz) all-purpose flour (maida)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 50 grams (2 oz) caster sugar
- 75 ml (5 tablespoons) warm milk
- 1 egg beaten
- 30 ml (2 tablespoons) sunflower oil
- 50 grams (2 oz) butter, melted
- Icing confectioners sugar for dusting
Instructions
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Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Add the caster sugar and mix well. Make a well in the centre.
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Place the yeast in a small bowl and pour the warm milk over it. Cover with cling wrap and keep in a warm place till the yeast froths up, about 10 minutes. Then pour this mixture into the flour mixture .
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Beat the egg and oil together and add it to the flour mixture and mix until it forms a ball.
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Tip the dough ball onto a clean surface dusted with flour and knead for 8-10 minutes or until nice and smooth.
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Place the dough ball in a bowl greased with oil. Cover with cling film and keep in a warm place till doubled in volume, for about 1 hour
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Grease two baking trays with oil and keep it ready. Place the melted butter on a plate.
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Punch out the excess air from the dough and divide it into 16 equal pieces.
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Roll each of the 16 pieces of dough into smooth, round balls and then shape them into a sausage. Place your index fingers in the centre of the sausages and roll outwards to form ropes about 14-15 inches long
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Roll the ropes in the melted butter then place them in spirals on the greased baking trays. Tuck in the loose ends under the spiral. Cover lightly with cling wrap and let the spirals rise for another 45 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 190 C. Gently brush the tops of the spirals with water and then dust with a little icing sugar.
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Bake for 10 minutes or until golden on top. Remove and let the ensaimadas cool on a wire rack. Dust more icing sugar and serve.
Let’s take a look at what my fellow bakers have baked for this month’s Family Feast Breads event:
- Butterflake Rolls from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Cardamom Fig Braid from A Shaggy Dough Story
- Challah Bread from la cocina de Aisha
- Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Buns from Food Lust People Love
- Chicken in a Blanket from Sneha’s Recipe
- Classic Dinner Rolls from A Baker’s House
- Cloverleaf Rolls from En La Cocina de Caro
- Cranberry & Orange Spice Bread from Baking in Pyjamas
- Eggless Coconut Pineapple Quick Bread from Seduce Your Tastebuds
- Edible Bread Basket from Passion Kneaded
- Mallorcan Ensaimadas from Ruchik Randhap
- Meyer Lemon & Cranberry Einkorn Bread from The Schizo Chef
- Pear Pie Cinnamon Rolls from From Gate to Plate
- Poppy Seed Coiled Challah from Bakingyummies
- Poppyseed Roll from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Povitica from Spiceroots
- Pumpkin Dinner Rolls from Cook’s Hideout
- Pumpkin Yeast Bread from Hostess At Heart
- Rose-shaped Buns from Sara’s Tasty Buds
- Savory Cheddar Honey Butter Rolls from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Simple High Fibre Baguettes from What Smells So Good?
- Smoked Cheddar Caramelized Onion Dinner Rolls from Noshing With The Nolands
- Sweet Dumpling Squash Drop Biscuits from Magnolia Days
- Thanksgiving Wreath Braided Bread Centerpiece from Pastry Chef Online
#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.
If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to [email protected].
Your ensaimadas are very nice , I have the same recipe but in big 🙂 http://bit.ly/1Y1u5wb
These are so pretty, Shireen. I would want a whole batch of those and curl up with a good book. Well done!
They look great!!! 🙂
Beautiful! It is special that the way you formed the rolls makes them stand out as something unique– really lovely!
Those are so beautiful Shireen, and so are the photographs!
What a beautiful recipe. These rolls look so soft and tender.
Those look heavenly and your pictures are breathtaking!!
These look so very delicious. I think my family would love them
Oh, Shireen! These are beautiful! I am so glad that your family enjoyed them as well. That is always a huge bonus in my book!
I love the subtle sweetness milk brings to bread. These spirals are so lovely–really beautiful bread, and I'm glad your family approved!
These rolls look so pretty, I can understand why your husband liked them so much!
These are so beautiful and festive.
Wow, those Mallorcan look so cute and like you said kids will love these for the shape and the yummy taste of course.
These are some of the pretties rolls I've seen, they look wonderful! [email protected] Baking in Pyjamas
We LOVE this bread here, gotta make it again
I love the beautifully rolled ensaimadas. Must try this recipe.
Thanks for your lovely comments!