The ensaimadas brioche from Mallorca are sweets that are hard to describe, you just have to make and taste them, too good to be explained.
They are typical brioches from the island of Mallorca in Spain, extremely soft with a spiral shape.
Their origins are very ancient and initially, they seem to have been born as slightly sweetened or salted bread.
Puff pastry brioches with butter or lard, which is exactly what makes them so soft and unique.
To make the dough, I used my Croustina Panasonic bread machine, but obviously, you can make the dough by hand or with a stand mixer, the important thing is that the dough is well-kneaded.
The rising times aren’t very short, but the result will be worth it.
Generally, they are empty brioches inside, but there are also filled versions, for example, one curious filling is with “camell de angel”, a kind of jam made with white pumpkin.
They are also made in the shape of a cake, so larger and mostly typical for the Christmas period.
You know I like to tell anecdotes about recipes when I know them, but besides this, you just have to try them, so follow the recipe and let me know!
Follow the recipe and if you replicate it, or replicate other recipes on my blog, send me the photos, I will post them on my FB page in your name.
Kcal 321 approximately per each ensaimada
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 8 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Spanish
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients to make Ensaimadas brioche from Mallorca
- 4 g fresh yeast
- 160 ml water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 350 g all-purpose flour
- 120 g sugar
- 1 egg (medium)
- starter dough
- 50 g butter (or lard)
- 30 g butter (or 1 egg yolk)
- 10 g powdered sugar
Preparation of Ensaimadas brioche from Mallorca
In a small bowl, put the ingredients for the starter dough, mix them well, cover the bowl and let it rest for about 1 hour until it becomes puffy.
In the bread machine, insert the kneading blade, pour in the flour, sugar, the now-ready starter dough, the egg, and start the machine with the kneading program, I use button 17.
Let it work for about 15 minutes, the program lasts about 45 minutes (mine).
Transfer the dough to a bowl with a dusting of flour, create a ball, cover the bowl with cling film and let it rise for about 3 hours or until doubled.
If desired, the dough can be made easily by hand or with the help of a stand mixer.
Once risen, transfer the dough to a floured work surface, recreate a ball and divide it into 8 equal parts.
Form 8 balls and let them rest for about an hour, so that they relax and can be easily rolled out for the next phase.
While the balls rest, put the butter in a glass and let it melt at room temperature, it should be soft like an ointment.
After the time has passed, take each ball and roll it out to obtain a long and thin strip of dough, brush it with butter and roll it up on itself from the long side.
Once you have obtained the rolled cord, slightly pull it and close it into a spiral without tightening too much, because they will need to rise and it’s better if they have room.
Place the obtained spirals on a baking tray well spaced apart and let them rise until doubled.
Once risen, brush them with butter, or with egg yolk diluted in a drop of water.
Preheat the oven to 392°F (200°C), bake the brioches and lower the oven to 356°F (180°C) and let them bake for 15-20 minutes, checking the cooking, they should be slightly colored on the surface.
