September 14, 2016

Mallorcas & a Giveaway



What started as a "girls trip" in 2014 with my girlfriends has subsequently turned in to a summer tradition that I look forward to every year.  On our first tour we went to Capri which was absolutely gorgeous and had the best people/celebrity watching.  Last year we ventured to Florence  where we shopped 'til we dropped and ate tons of pasta and gelato in between.    This summer's locale was Mallorca, one of Spain's stunning Baleriac islands. 


We stayed in Palma and had the best time walking throughout the capital city's cobblestone streets and enjoying the delicious food (tapas! sangria!), beautiful sites and fantastic shopping.  Can you sense a theme in our trips?   So when I was thumbing through America's Test Kitchen's latest amazing tome, Bread Illustrated, I was absolutely delighted to see the recipe for Mallorcas.



It seemed like every bakery we passed by sold this massive, spiral bread which I later came to learn was called ensaimada (see pic below)With further research I soon learned that Mallorcas, or Pan de Mallorca, are Puerto Rico's version of the ensaimada.  Unfortunately I never got the chance to try the bread in Palma, but armed with this recipe I could now try it's close relative!



The enriched dough is similar to brioche in that it's laden with eggs and butter.  After an initial proof the dough is rolled thinly, brushed with melted butter and rolled up like a jelly roll to achieve multiple layers.  After portioning out the dough each piece is then rolled in to a long rope, brushed with more butter and finally formed in to a spiral before it's final proof.

The smell of the freshly baked buns is absolutely hypnotic.  After a brief cooling they are generously dusted with a cloud of powdered sugar and served slightly warm.  Delicioso!  I brought the buns to my family's Labor Day BBQ where they were subsequently claimed by my siblings and mom.

There are so many fantastic bread recipes in this cookbook and I can't wait to try more.  I think the chocolate babka and Portuguese sweet bread are calling my name, so watch this blog for future posts.


My friends at America's Test Kitchen have generously donated a cookbook to give away on my blog AND my Instagram, @treatssf.   See blog giveaway rules below.

BLOG GIVEAWAY RULES:
  1. Deadline to enter is Saturday September 24, 2016, 11:59pm PST.
  2. Only open to people with US mailing addresses.
  3. To enter, leave a comment to this post with your email address.  Sorry, you must include your email address as that's the only way I can contact the winner.
GOOD LUCK! 

Mallorcas

Makes 12 buns

5 cups (25 ounces) all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 ounces) whole milk, room temperature
4 large eggs, room temperature
10 tablespoons (4 1/3 ounces) granulated sugar
10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter, softened + 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Whisk flour, yeast, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer.  Whisk milk, eggs, and granulated sugar in 4-cup liquid measuring cup until sugar has dissolved.  Using dough hook on low speed, slowly add milk mixture to flour mixture and mix until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed.

Increase speed to medium-low and knead until dough begins to pull away from sides of bowl but sticks to bottom, about 5 minutes.  With mixer running, add softened butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, and knead until butter is fully incorporated, about 5 minutes.  Continue to knead until dough is smooth and elastic and clears side of bowl but sticks to bottom, about 3 minutes.

Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form smooth, round ball, about 30 seconds.  Place dough seam side down in lightly greased large bowl or container, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.  press down on dough to deflate.  Transfer dough to lightly floured counter, divide in half, and cover loosely with greased plastic.  Press and roll 1 piece of dough (keep remaining piece covered) into 18 by 12-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge.

Brush 2 tablespoons melted butter over dough, leaving 1-inch border at top edge.  Roll dough away from you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it in under itself as you go.  Pinch seam closed, then reshape cylinder as needed to be 18 inches in length with uniform thickness.  Cover loosely with greased plastic.  Repeat with remaining piece of dough and 2 tablespoons butter.

Using serrated knife, cut each cylinder into 6 pieces and cover loosely with greased plastic.  [NOTE: If you want smaller mallorcas you should cut each cylinder in to 12 pieces.]  Working with 1 piece of dough at a time (keep remaining pieces covered), stretch and roll into 10-inch rope.  Lightly brush rope with melted butter, coil into spiral, and tuck tail end underneath.

Arrange rolls on prepared sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart.  Using finger, gently poke indentation into center of each spiral.  Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until nearly doubled in size and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake 1 sheet at a time until rolls are light golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.  Transfer rolls to wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes.  Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve warm.

14 comments:

  1. Yum! These look delicious. And I'm very jealous of your trips! alibear167 at gmail

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  2. Anonymous9/14/2016

    I hope I win! Love your blog!
    Jennifer
    gorgonesk@yahoo.com

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  3. This looks amazing! Love any type of bread!
    Jansanderaon70@gmail.com

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  4. Those look fabulous! Wow... A girls trip! I'd love to do that! My sister though is unfortunately addicted to the show Air Disasters and would never step foot on an airplane! Thank you for the great recipe. I love America's Test Kitchen! It's on my DVR list!

    Ohtracyb@gmail.com

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  5. Sounds like you had a wonderful time. It's beautiful there. I'd like the opportunity to win! Thanks 🤗 My email address is collvar77@aol.com

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  6. Anonymous9/14/2016

    Sounds like you had a great time in Spain- isn't food part of any great trip?
    mtl166@verizon.net

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  7. Anonymous9/14/2016

    Would love to win this book! Poinsett36@gmail.com

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  8. This bread sounds yummy! Bread is my absolute favorite thing to make and I love anything from ATK. Thank you for a chance to win this cookbook! My email is ashtonlittle89@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous9/20/2016

    The mallorcas look delicious.
    lhnirt at yahoo dot com

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  10. I love the Filipino ensaimada with ube filling. I will sure try this recipe.My email is sabrafamily76@yahoo.com. Thank you.


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  11. Flor de Maria9/21/2016

    I have loved making bread for years and this book looks like a wonderful opportunity to try new recipes. Thanks for the opportunity to get the cookbook. Flholmes1@aol.com

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  12. Delicious!! Kj.Voigt@gmail. com

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  13. I have an addiction to bread and all baked goods! I'd love to get this book.

    daniela.ev4@gmail.com

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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