The Folar, or folar de Páscoa, or folar de Chaves (typical especially of the city of Chaves, in the district of Vila Real, northern region), or folar de Valpaços, is a traditional Portuguese bread typical of Easter, made with eggs, water, salt and flour; the shape, filling and preparation vary by region, and it can even have eggs on top as well as inside the dough.
In the north-east of the Trás-os-Montes region, in Valpaços, the folar de Valpaços is filled with pork, ham, salpicão (a sausage-shaped cured meat typical of Portugal) and linguiça. The recipe follows.
Typical of Easter, it resembles somewhat our Casatiello; in some regions the dough is braided with a hard-boiled egg on the surface before baking.
It is traditional to offer the Folar cake to godparents and priests at Easter, imitating the sharing of bread at the Last Supper.
To be a true folar, certain characteristics are required; besides ingredients like flour and olive oil, the recipe must include the use of lard and various types of pork — dry-cured pork, unsmoked pancetta, smoked cold cuts and sausage, smoked ham and/or smoked pork shoulder.
It must also have a rectangular shape and a yellow color.
There are also sweet folars such as the folar from Olhão, made of seven layers with melted sugar and cinnamon, and the more common folar flavored with anise and cinnamon, typical of the south (Algarve),
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 6 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Portuguese
- Seasonality: Easter, Spring
Ingredients
- 500 g farina
- 4 uova
- 65 g strutto
- 15 g lievito di birra fresco
- q.b. sale
- q.b. olio di oliva
- 50 ml acqua (tiepida)
- 60 g carne di suino secca
- 70 g pancetta (non affumicata)
- 70 g salsiccia affumicata
- 70 g prosciutto affumicato
- 60 g salumi affumicati
Tools
- 1 Teglia da pane in cassetta
Preparation
Sift the flour and add the salt.
Make a well in the center and add the olive oil, the lard and the eggs, then combine.
Add the yeast dissolved in the warm water and knead.
Transfer the dough to a bowl and let it rise until doubled (about 2 hours).
Cut the cold cuts into large pieces.
Grease a loaf pan (about 6 x 10 in).
Roll the dough into a rectangular shape and fill it with the cold cuts.
Roll up the dough and place it in the pan.
Let it rise again for about 30 minutes.
Bake in the oven at 356°F for 40–45 minutes.
You can find smoked sausages online for this recipe.
