Snack

Ensaimada

Name: Ensaimada
Prep time: 70 min
Cook time: 1470 min
Total time: 1540 min
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 5g Yeast; 200g Caster sugar; 2 medium Egg, medium; 600g Strong white bread flour; Vegetable oil, Drizzle; 100g Lard; 230ml Water, lukewarm; 1 tsp Sea salt flakes; Baking parchment, as needed

A traditional Mallorcan spiral pastry with a tender, elastic dough enriched with lard and baked until dark golden.

25 hr 40 min
1010 kcal
Spanish
Dessert

Mellowpan tip: This one takes a while. Save it for a slower day, and swap it in when the week allows.

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Ingredients

For 4 servings

Steps

Step 1:
Pour the lukewarm water into a bowl and add the yeast. Leave to stand for 3 minutes.
3 min
Step 2:
Add the caster sugar, eggs, flour and sea salt flakes, then mix to form a dough.
Step 3:
Knead for 10 minutes in a stand mixer using a dough hook, or for 15 minutes by hand, until the dough is elastic enough to be almost see-through when stretched.
10 min
Step 4:
Cover and leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes, then cut it into four equal pieces.
30 min
Step 5:
Transfer the pieces to a baking tray lined with baking parchment and leave to rest for another 30 minutes.
30 min
Step 6:
Oil the work surface and a rolling pin with vegetable oil.
Step 7:
Working with one portion of dough at a time, flatten it with the palm of your hand and roll it into a thin rectangle, about 30 x 50cm.
Step 8:
Rest the dough for 2 minutes, then spread one quarter of the lard over the top. If using sobrasada de Mallorca as a filling, mix 50g lard with the sobrasada and spread this over the dough instead.
2 min
Step 9:
Pull one corner of the flattened dough and stretch it as far as possible without breaking. Repeat about every 10cm around the rectangle in every direction until it reaches about 50 x 70cm.
Step 10:
Cut a strip from each shorter side and lay the strips beside each other along one longer side of the rectangle to form the heart of the ensaimada.
Step 11:
Starting at the heart, roll up the dough to make a long pastry snake. Repeat with the remaining dough portions.
Step 12:
Stretch the first roll of dough until it is over 1 metre long.
Step 13:
Roll the dough into a spiral, leaving 1cm between each turn so it can expand. Flatten it slightly and transfer it to a baking sheet lined with baking parchment.
Step 14:
Repeat with the remaining dough, then leave the ensaimadas to rise in a warm place for at least 12 hours, or ideally 24 hours.
12 h
Step 15:
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Put the ensaimadas in the top third of the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
Step 16:
Bake for 18 minutes until dark golden, then cool on a wire rack.
18 min
Step 17:
To fill with whipped cream, slice the ensaimada open, spread in the cream and close it. Dust generously with icing sugar, if desired, and cut into pieces to serve.