July 31st
2009
One of the most frequent questions I’ve answered concerning my book and blog is about the source of my inspiration. “Everywhere” as an answer is the slightly boring, *yawn*, yet it hits the nail on the head. Magazine pictures, market vendors, blog articles, TV shows and – most importantly – people talking about food in my everyday life including friends and family.
Most recent example: Maike is the good fairy of my publishing house’s cooking portal Küchengötter (German). She had just returned from traveling and while we nibbled away on some chocolate bars and fresh red currants, she raved about a certain Mallorcan pastry she had enjoyed numerous times on her trip, called Ensaimadas. Being obsessed with all things yeasty (and lard!), her description alone made me salivating: soft and flaky, slightly sweet pastry, made from long fermented yeast dough, lots of powdered sugar and greasy fingers from the used lard … ENSAIMADAS!!! – I quickly doodled down their name in my little to cook-notebook and added extra exclamation marks to make sure not to miss it.
Back home, I scanned the baking as well as the Spanish section of our cookbook shelves, but neither Elisabeth Luard nor the recipes I found online could jump-start my endeavor. You know, the sort of impressive picture that just gets you on first sight or an inspiring, confident step-by-step description that sends you straight to the kitchen. Until I stumbled onto Eliza’s recipe (in German). Eliza and I have met before at a cooking class last year and have followed each others footsteps (aka recipes) closely. Her recipe had the right mixture of simplicity and details and before I knew, I entered my neighborhood bakery for a fresh yeast cube.
I don’t have a clue if this is the most authentic Ensaimadas recipe (there are quite some regional differences), lacking first hand experience of the real thing from Majorca. All I can say is that my results exceeded my expectations by far. Perhaps their soft flaky-fluffiness, the lard’s typical taste or their unbelievable aroma once you take out the baking tray – these are very likely to become my favorite sweet pastry prepared from yeast dough EVER. The preparation is easy (ok, I still have to work on their looks…) and it’s wonderful to watch this dough rise, the relatively high amount of yeast makes for a super speedy rising. If you’ve eaten a real Majorcan Ensaimada, try this recipe and let me know, what you think… And a heartfelt Thank you goes out to Eliza ;)
Add the flour together with sugar and salt into a large bowl (I used my KitchenAid bowl) and mix well. Make a hollow in the center, add the crumbled yeast as well as a decent pinch of sugar and pour over just enough of the lukewarm milk until the yeast is covered. Stir the yeast milk once or twice, then cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let rest for about 15 minutes or until the surface of the yeast milk looks bubbly.
Add the other ingredients (the remaining milk, eggs,olive oil ) and knead well, either by hand or with your kitchen machine until the dough comes together nicely. I used less milk in the beginning (200 or 220 ml, while the original recipe suggests 250 ml) and my dough still turned out pretty sticky, I therefor added a tad more flour and let it knead at medium speed for 3 minutes (just for the record: my dough still felt sticky). Let the covered bowl rest again in a warm place for at least 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled.
Punch it down softly, then flip the dough onto a well-floured surface and sprinkle with flour. Cut into about 10 equally sized portions and form into neat little balls, before letting them rest – sprinkled with flour, covered with a kitchen towel – once more for at least 30 minutes.
Shaping the Ensaimadas: Flatten one doughball, then roll out with a rolling pin (use flour as needed) until you get a pretty thin dough circle and brush it generously with the softened pork lard. Roll up cautiously, then let rest for a couple of minutes and continue with the other dough balls. (Meanwhile line the baking sheets with either parchment paper or silicone mats.)
Coil up each dough piece until it resembles the house of a snail (tuck the outer end under), ideally very loosely, because any spaces will fill up as the dough rises further. Place about five Ensaimadas on one baking sheet, making sure to leave enough space between them. Lightly brush with lard and cover up again.
The final rise is supposed to last overnight, yet I baked mine in three different batches (with rising times of 1 hour, 4 hours, 13 hours) and we preferred their look and taste with shorther rising times (1 and 4 hours). But do as you like.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (~390° Fahrenheit) and bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until golden brown. Take out and let them cool down on a wire rack for a couple of minutes, then generously dust with powdered sugar and enjoy while still warm. Greasy fingers included!
Ensaimadas
Recipe source: inspired by Eliza's recipe
Active time: about 45 minutes, rising: several hours, baking: about 15 minutes
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Ingredients (yields about 10 Ensaimadas):
500g all-purpose flour (plus additional as needed )
75g sugar
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
40g fresh yeast (= 1 cube)
200-250ml lukewarm milk
2 eggs (M)
2 tbsp olive oil
150g soft pork lard
powdered sugar for dusting
ils sont magnifiques !!
Hi Nicole!
Beautiful blog entry as always. I love the picture of the sliced pastry, it looks so flaky, like a croissant. Is it possible to replace the lard, to make them vegetarian?? I would love to try.What would you recommend as a replacement? Thanks! Best wishes Carla
Hi Carla, I'd try soft butter, clarified butter or even olive oil as a substitute. They will not have the typical taste of pork lard (which I love), but I am pretty sure, they will still taste great. Let me know, how they turn out if you try them ;)
There was a show with Gyneth Paltrow and Mario Batali called "On the Road Again: Spain." On one of the episodes, they saw these being made and they looked fabulous
www. spainontheroadagain. com
I live in Spain and those ensaimadas looks more or less what we have here but maybe a bit less of dough and the crust seems a bit different but hey you did great!! it is difficult because you have regular ensaimada and the one from Mallorca which has a special filling in it called cabello de angel which I do not know how to translate.
They are very, very soft in the inside and the crust is not very crispy.
I'll try to find a good recipe for you and send it!
So funny! Just this morning I was searching for Ensaimada recipes, because I had seen one example on the Yeast-spotting event on the Wild Yeast blog. However, no recipe really convinced me, just as you mentioned as well. And then I find this one! I'll certainly give it a try. I am also glad that you tried different rising times, as those very long ones sort of surprised me for a yeast dough. I was somewhat skeptical of that... However, during my research, I found that Ensaimadas used to be made with a sourdough starter and I thought that the long rising times probably tried to imitate some of that taste.
when i saw the word "ensaimada" i told myself "I have to read this" and you did it, good for you! i have tried making enaimada, but i always prefer the bought one, and everytime i com back from home (barcelona) i always have a frozen giant ensaimada in my freezer, to feed my spirit....i loved your page, and i will keep coming back for more, visit mine if you have the time (www.pityinthekitchen.blogspot.com)cheers from a spanish in london,
These look lovely. I am so interested in how recipes have regional differences (some minor, some major). It's fascinating to me. It speaks volumes about different cultures and countries. How people live. What they do. What they harvest. Love the look of these. Beautiful.
That is beautifully flaky and tender! They look great.
I've never eaten ensaimadas in Majorca, but have sampled many on mainland Spain, and they are argubaly my favorite pastry in the world. It wasn't until I watched an episode of a Rick Stein program on the BBC, that I discovered that they were made slathered in lard, and that only made me love them more. I think I need to head back to Spain soon, and find a nice litte cafe to have one for breakfast with the sweetest orange juice and strong cafe con leche.
[...] saw these Ensaïmades at delicious days yesterday and thought these might provide me we perfect for my dinner AND provide me with some [...]
When i went to Majorca a few years ago I was really looking forward to try the "real" thing and was highly disappointed by the greasy, sugary thing that I got with my coffee and made me sick after the second bite.
These look beautiful though. I will give ensaimadas a second chance, for sure!
I have nevert tasted Ensaimadas but it sounds and looks great. Thanks for the recipe!
do you eat (or at least try) all the delicious stuff yourselve? if yes, how do you manage to stay slim?
Leider stehe ich mit Hefeteif ein wenig auf Kriegsfuß, alle Rezepte mit Hefe gehen bei mir schief. Ausdrucken werde ich es trotzdem, das sieht schon verdammt gut aus!
i tried your recipe adding some slim apricot slices that i rolled up in the dough. LOVELY. the sour taste of the fruit goes really well with the pastry although they did look a little less perfectly shaped than yours!
These look delicious! I love the idea of being inspired, and modifying the inspiration source to make a dish your own!
I just made these yesterday and now am in need of advice: after I'd let the shaped Ensaimadas rest (for a little over an hour), they were really ... big and flat. The dough was extremely fluffy and once ready, there was nothing left of the spiral shape inside, they're just rather like a very fluffy, flat 'Krapfen'. Any ideas what I might have done wrong? (Note: I ususally let yeast dough rise in a special yeast dough container and in the oven at 45-50°C. Perhaps that isn't such a good idea?)
A little help would be great here!
This looks delish! Yum! I don't use pork lard. Any suggestions on the substitute?
As written above, I'd try butter, clarified butter or olive oil ;)
These little pastries look fabulous. We use the same method of rolling to make green scallions pancakes in Asian cuisine
They look wonderful, so tender. Love the way the dough curls in the centre
Loved the introduction for these ensaimadas! Thanks for providing a recipe. I'll definitely have to give them a try and hopefully they'll turn out as well for me as they did for you!
I made the ensaimadas with softened butter instead of lard (you substitute equal parts of butter for the lard), and they were beautiful, very tasty.
We have a huge sweet tooth, so my husband and I enjoyed them with small dabs of apricot jam, while they were still warm from the oven. Heavenly!
I have to say, Nicky, I love all your yeast dough recipes, keep them coming!
Thank you for reporting back about your Ensaimadas with butter - I'm glad you're happy with the results ;)
40g of yeast? That seems like quite a lot...I can only find "loose" yeast (i.e., Red Star or Fleischmann's) that comes in 7g packets. Is your yeast cube equivalent? Thanks and your recipes are great!
Hi Chris, I'd probably start with about 20 g of active dry yeast (half of the amount of fresh yeast the original recipe calls for). If you try them with active dry yeast, let me know!
Here's the standard formula that professional bakers use to substitute active dry yeast or instant yeast when fresh yeast is not available:
100% fresh yeast = 40 to 50% active dry = 33% instant yeast
Source: Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice
I have used this formula successfully many times. However, I also modified recipes slightly when using instant, because instant yeast has to be mixed with the flour, and not the liquid in the recipe.
Hope this helps, Nicky!
Thanks for your heartfelt thank you, Nicole. It makes me really proud and somehow it raises a little blush on my cheeks ;-) Never thought, this recipe might cause so much interest - even your´s at your wonderful blog! Thanks for your photo at "Küchengötter", I like it very much. Sometimes I recall the day, we met in Munich at a cooking class last year in June. It was great and I won´t forget it. All the best for you, Eliza
Dear Nicole,
I made these ensaimadas today, the result is totally wonderful. I love the taste so much that I am planning to use the dough recipe for other type of breads as well.
Thank you very much for the recipe!
Hi!
Ensaymadas, spelled with a "y", are very common and popular here in the Philippines. Neighborhood "panaderias" would prepare them topped with sugar and margarine straight out of the oven, ready to be sold early in the morning. The ones sold in larger bakeries are prepared in a softer, lighter yet richer dough. They are filled with savory ham or sweet purple yam and topped with loads of grated cheese.
I had them in Barcelona few years ago and LOVED them!! I had no idea that they had lard in them. Will definitely try this recipe soon!!
I have wanted to make these since the day you posted this but put off getting pastry lard.
I finally made them last night… I’m eager next time to try some different fillings… chocolate crème pâtissière? Apricot? I am totally with you: favorite sweet bread ever.
Eep! I meant to include a picture. Here!
Have never tasted a Mallorcan ensaimada, but, have always enjoyed eating "ensaymadas" while growing up.
Not sure how similar Filipino and Mallorcan ensaimadas are, but, the ones I grew up with are served with a dollop of some type of sweet cream and topped with shaved cheddar and/or edam cheese.
Wow ensaimadas! One of my favorite desserts! We have a local version of that here in the Philippines and it is just as good. But it looks like your recipe looks more yummy. Thank you very much for posting this recipe.
liebe nicky, man sieht wieder, wir sind auf einer wellenlaenge! einfache, geschmacksexplosive kueche, das ist bei mir das fazit fuer 2009 und ich glaube, ich schwimme gerne in diesem trend weiter!!! die ensaimadas muss ich jetzt echt endlich machen, die sehen so unglaublich lecker aus!!! liebe gruesse aus london (ps: wir fahren heuer wieder nach oesterreich und stoppen vielleicht in muenchen - aber sehen werden wir uns auf alle faelle!!)
Hmm, ich liebe Hefegebäck... Gestern habe ich die Ensaimadas zum ersten Mal gebacken und muss sagen, dass sie mir heute, also am 2. Tag, fast noch besser geschmeckt haben als gestern warm aus dem Ofen. Das habe ich nicht oft bei Hefegebäck.
Mein Fazit: Etwas aufwändig in der Herstellung, aber es lohnt sich.
[...] that I’ve been making a lot of yeasted rolls and breads lately. Last week I made some curious and lovely ensaimadas that I found at delicious:days, and I’ve made a few batches of yeast-risen waffles. (I gave my 11 month-old a taste of those [...]
wondering how they would turn out using butter in place of the lard?
I used butter instead of lard, and used Canadian bread flour instead of AP. You can see them here: http://jade-in-the-kitchen.blogspot.com/2010/01/ensaimadas.html
Made them 4-5 times already, soooo gooood!
[...] was confirmed we’d be coming to visit, she sent an email saying oh goody – and let’s make these! Using lard we make from scratch! Which I admit is something I’d considered doing in the past, [...]
[...] treated to delicious Ensaïmada bun and savored every bite. She took note to look up a recipe and ran across one before she ever had the chance to [...]
[...] de Mallorca , which are obviously something like a national treasure. i stumbled upon the recipe here and tried them this morning (started actually last evening, since they are supposed to rise [...]
The way the dough curls at every turn is delightfully menacing. My knees go weak for sweet rolls and breads. And, the dusting of powdered sugar over these Ensaimadas is the clincher.