Thursday, February 18, 2010

Bread Snails


Baking with the Bread Baking Babes is a virtual globe-trotting tour. This month, our kitchen hostess, Karen of Bake My Day, took us to Spain to try Ensaïmadas. These delightful rolls were soft, pillowy, and delicious. They're supposed to be rolled up into snail shapes. Mine were slacker underachievers and relaxed into semi-croissants, but that didn't stop my family from yumming them all up.

I made two variations. The original recipe called for soft pork lard. That's not something I have lying around my larder (ha, little joke there), but I do have butter and I do have bacon grease. My family was hard pressed to say which they preferred. My daughter opined that the bacon grease rolls would be even more amazing with bits of cooked bacon and chopped onion rolled up in it.

If you'd like to bake along with us and be a Baking Buddy, you have till the 25th to get a post up and send a link to Karen. Check out what the other Babes have done with this challenge! (the addresses are in the sidebar)

Thanks, Karen, for this delightful taste of Spain!



Ensaimadas
- from Delicious Days
Active time: about 45 minutes, rising: several hours, baking: about 15 minutes
.
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, bacon grease, or softened butter
powdered sugar for dusting


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 really sticky). Let the covered bowl rest again in a warm place for at least 30 minutes or until the dough has doubled. (It took a long time for my dough to rise. Chilly kitchen, maybe.)

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 (or bacon grease or softened butter). 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 ( leave the bacon grease ones plain) and enjoy while still warm. Greasy fingers included!

27 comments:

NKP said...

Lovely rolls! I love the delicate spiral of dough hidden within them. Delicious! Mmm.. bacon grease.. :)

Barbara said...

Those are really cute rolls and I love the name! Your daughter might have a plan....bacon bits and onion. Yummee.

Karen Baking Soda said...

Those feathery light layers are showing wonderfully Lynn! Hmm I do like your daughters idea...

grace said...

you mean you don't keep lard on hand at all times? the shame! :)
these pieces of bread are all kinds of awesome--that shape is fun and the fluffy innards are so appealing!

Bethany said...

To echo everyone else... your daughter might have an idea there! I like the idea of making these savory, although the "pillowy" texture is calling to me as a sweet treat as well!

Homemade Heaven said...

Hubby was just talking about something like this least night and how much he liked them. I am going to give it a try - I think I might even make the 25th deadline this time!

Anonymous said...

Oh how delicious do they look!I imagine I would have them slowly unravelled, dipped in cream cheese or jam. or both. mmmmm

Elle said...

What charming rolls! The timing is perfect since baby snails are showing up in my garden, all set to become big enough to eat all the seedlings...Mother Nature has it all figured out. Does the dough stay sticky on these through the shaping process?

kickpleat said...

I can almost smell these rolls! They look beautiful and I'm almost tempted to make them despite my bread fears.

The Blonde Duck said...

I didn't know they meant bread snails! How cute!

Jan (Family Bites) said...

These look great. I love the look of the inside of the rolls - so soft and fine. Bread snails is a cute name for them!

Ilva said...

I think your daughter is right, what a great idea! your buns look perfect baby!

Monique said...

MMmmm flaky snaky's !!

Gretchen Noelle said...

Yours really had lovely layers! Great job Lynn!

Pam said...

This looks incredibly good! Love the name!

Melinda said...

They look very soft and billowy.
Now, why don't you have some 'pig lard' hanging around?
That pig lard has really gone out of fashion, thanks to the American Heart Association!

UK recipes for steamed puddings and pastry crust are big on using suet. I had never heard or used it before I came here.(it is from beef or sheep fat, usually from around the kidneys or loins of the animal.) There is a vegetable suet alternative, but the regular suet is normally used.
I don't have anything else to say about suet. I was sure you would want to increase your 'fats of the world' knowledge!
I think a little surprise of bacon and some onion in the middle sounds an excellent idea. Good thinking Serena!

Elizabeth said...

As I wander from Babe kitchen to Babe kitchen, I can't get over how beautiful these rolls are.

-Elizabeth

P.S. Bacon bits and onion... ooooooooh that sounds awfully good

Lien said...

You've got a real thin circulair line in those, that just looks great!

Maria said...

The rolls look so good and fun too!

Big Boys Oven said...

wow I just love this bread, love the softness and the layering!

Katie Zeller said...

I'd vote for the bacon grease with bacon bits.... They look light and lovely!

hobby baker Kelly said...

While I filled mine with whipped cream, I must say the prospect of crispy bits of bacon and onion and maybe some crispy caramelized onion bits on top is calling to me even more! Good idea!

Sara said...

bacon and bacon grease.....oh my. i must make these again!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Just when I think I'm good with these and know where I go with them next ... you come along with bacon grease! Yes, I must do these again.
What a group this is and what wonderful buddies come along.

Anonymous said...

I made mine with butter and cinnamon sugar. Yum! The layers of your snails look great!

eatme_delicious said...

There's something about rolled dough that's so irresistible to me! Your daughters idea sounds brilliant.

Rit said...

Your ensaimadas look really good. In Spain, though usually eaten as a sweet thing, you can also find them filled with Sobrasada (a kind of chorizo paste)specially in in Mallorca (where both products are originally from). Therefore I supose the bacon ones can be also good. The regular ones are plain or filled with angel's hair, cream...