The Hornazo de Salamanca is a typical dish from Salamanca’s gastronomy, particularly eaten during the Lunes de Aguas, celebrating the return of women after Lent
A traditional Spanish savory pie, eaten mainly during the Easter celebrations.
Its preparation varies significantly by region, while keeping the basic element of a oven-baked filled pie.
Regional differences appear in the choice of filling ingredients, consumption traditions and specific culinary preparations.
Typical of the provinces of Salamanca and Ávila, this hornazo consists of a leavened dough filled with pork loin, spicy chorizo and hard-boiled eggs.
Some variations also include jamón curado (cured ham). The traditional dough of the Hornazo de Salamanca uses lard (manteca de cerdo) instead of butter.
With its leavened dough and rich meat-and-egg filling, it has many gastronomic cousins around the world such as:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 8 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Spanish
- Seasonality: Easter
Ingredients for a 24 cm (9.5 in) pan:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup lard (manteca de cerdo (pork lard))
- 0.5 oz fresh baker's yeast (about 15 g)
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup water (about 3.4 fl oz)
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (about 3.4 fl oz)
- 1/3 cup white wine (about 3.4 fl oz)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- teaspoons sweet paprika (pimentón dulce)
- 7 oz chorizo (about 200 g)
- 9 oz pork loin (lomo de cerdo (about 250 g))
- 3 hard-boiled eggs
- 1 egg (for brushing)
Steps
Prepare the dough:
Dissolve the yeast in a little lukewarm water with the sugar.
In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt and pimentón (sweet paprika).
Add the eggs, oil, white wine, lard and the water with the dissolved yeast.Knead until smooth and elastic.
Cover and let rise for about 1 hour.
Prepare the filling:
Slice the chorizo and the pork loin.
Peel and cut the hard-boiled eggs in half.Assemble the hornazo:
Divide the dough into two equal parts.
Roll out the first piece on a floured surface.
Evenly distribute the filling over the dough base.
Cover with the other piece of dough and seal the edges.
Brush the surface with beaten egg.
Make small vents on the top to allow steam to escape during baking.Baking:
Preheat the oven to 356°F.
Bake the hornazo for about 45 minutes, or until the surface is golden brown.
FAQ (Questions & Answers)
What are the different types of hornazo?
– Hornazo de Salamanca.
– Almería:
In the province of Almería, the hornazo is a long sweet bread with a braid on top enclosing a hard-boiled egg. It is eaten from Easter Monday until St. Mark’s Day (April 25), during outings or picnics in the fields.
– Cádiz:
In Cádiz, the hornazo is a homemade cake, typical of Quasimodo Monday (the second Monday after Easter). It consists of a cake base with a hard-boiled egg in the center, decorated with sweets and various biscuits.
–
Granada:
In the province of Granada, the hornazo is eaten on April 25, St. Mark’s Day. It is a roll or small bread made with oil dough, with a raw egg in the center, baked together with the dough. Traditionally, it is eaten with fresh fava beans, ham, bacon or cod.
– Albacete:
In the province of Albacete, the hornazo is eaten on Jueves Lardero (the Thursday before Carnival). It consists of a bread cake with an egg, a sardine, a chorizo and strips of pepper on top.
– Toledo:
In Toledo, the hornazo is sweet and typical of the pilgrimage in honor of the Virgin of Peace, celebrated on the second Sunday of May. It consists of a butter-and-sugar cake, covered with sweetened egg white and decorated with anise balls and chocolate shavings with a hard-boiled egg in the center.
– Puertollano (Ciudad Real):
In Puertollano, the hornazo is eaten the Sunday after Easter. It is a sweet cake with hard-boiled eggs incorporated into the dough, decorated with sugar. It is traditionally eaten during countryside outings.
– Cuenca:
In Cuenca, the hornazo is a cake garnished with hard-boiled eggs, eaten during the Easter Monday snack.
– Madrid:
In the Community of Madrid, especially in the Alcarria de Chinchón, the hornazo is a sweet with a hard-boiled egg in the center, prepared to be eaten outdoors on Easter Sunday.
–Jaén:
In Jaén, the hornazo is a sweet with a hard-boiled egg in the center, eaten from Easter Monday until St. Mark’s Day.
–Zamora:
In the province of Zamora, the hornazo is typical of the Aliste and Sayago regions. It is a bread pie filled with chorizo, bacon, pork loin and hard-boiled eggs.
–Ávila:
In Ávila, the hornazo is a bread pie filled with chorizo, bacon, pork loin and hard-boiled eggs, eaten during the Easter festivities.What is Lunes de Aguas?
Lunes de Aguas is a popular tradition from Salamanca, celebrated on the 8th day after Easter, i.e. the Monday after Easter.
This festival marks the end of Lent and the beginning of the spring season, returning to normality after the period of religious abstinence.
In the 16th century, King Felipe II ordered that the prostitutes of Salamanca be moved beyond the Tormes River during Lent as part of moral purification measures.
At the end of Lent, these women returned to town crossing the river, welcomed with celebrations by the university students.
This tradition became known as “Lunes de Aguas”, celebrating the women’s return with food, drink and merriment.
Today, Lunes de Aguas is a lively festival attracting thousands of people, including students, families and tourists.
People gather in parks, along the river and in the surrounding countryside to enjoy a day outdoors, eat hornazo, listen to music and take part in games and dances.
The festival has been recognized as a Fiesta of Tourist Interest of Castilla y León, highlighting its cultural and touristic importance.What if I want to use sourdough starter to make hornazo?
For a sourdough version, replace the fresh yeast with 100 g of active sourdough starter.
Follow the same procedure described above, using the starter instead of fresh yeast.
Allow the dough to rise for 2-3 hours, or until doubled in volume.
Proceed as described in the previous preparation.
🌍 Map of traditional stuffed breads similar to the Hornazo:
🇪🇸 Spain
Hornazo (Salamanca): bread filled with lomo, chorizo, hard-boiled eggs. Typical of “Lunes de Aguas”.
↪ Similar in structure to a closed focaccia: savory, festive.
🇮🇹 Italy
Casatiello (Campania): leavened bread with lard, cured meats and cheeses, whole eggs on the surface.
Torta Pasqualina (Liguria): savory puff with vegetables and eggs.
Pitta ‘nchiusa (Calabria): sweet or savory rolled filled bread, less structurally similar but linked to Easter.
🇵🇹 Portugal
Folar de Chaves: Easter bread with meat inside (shoulder, chorizo), sometimes hard-boiled eggs.
↪ Very similar to the Hornazo, also leavened dough and savory filling.
Folar da Páscoa: Easter bread with whole eggs (also decorative) and religious symbolism.
Variants: sweet or savory. In the savory version, the filling can include cured meats like jamón or chouriço.
🇬🇷 Greece
Koulouri me Avga (Greek Easter bread): less stuffed, with colored eggs on top.
↪ Similar aesthetics, less complex inside.
Tsoureki (less common savory version): better known as a sweet Easter bread, but some regional savory versions with eggs exist.
🇧🇷 Brazil
Pão Recheado: bread filled with meat, cheeses, olives. Not tied to Easter but similar in style.
🇲🇽 Mexico
Salted Rosca de Reyes (modern versions): some reinterpretations of the Epiphany sweet as savory, with ingredients similar to those in hornazo.
