A Taste of Home

Hey doll hey!!! How’s your day/night going? Great I hope. My anxiety is still going and my hands are to shaky to do my makeup for today so I decided to take a break but then I got thinking about my Abuelita (may she rest in peace) and that got me thinking about the time she took me to to Puerto Rico for the first time when I was in my early teens which naturally led to me thinking about the amazing foods we had in Puerto Rico which then led to me remembering all the amazing breads I was introduced to on that trip.

My favorite breads were the sweet ones… specifically Pan Sobao (which I’ve posted about when I did my yearly candle haul) and Pan de Mallorca (which I was have been craving so much lately). So I hopped on YouTube and started watching tutorials and then I went to work coming up with my own recipe for these amazing sweet rolls, a few batches later I FINALLY have to PERFECT recipe for Pan de Mallorca.

Since I wont have a Face of the Day post for you today I figured I would share my final draft of my recipe for Pan de Mallorca…. so here we go….

You will need:

• 1 cup (250ml) lukewarm water… I microwaved it for 30 seconds right before I was going to add it to the bowl.

• I cup (250ml) lukewarm full fat milk… again I microwaved it for 30 seconds right before I was going to add it to the bowl.

• 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 grams) of active dry yeast (or 1 individual packet of active dry yeast)

• 1 cup (200 grams) table sugar (white sugar)

• 5 cups (750 grams) strong flour (bread flour) * note: you can use All Purpose flour for this recipe but you will need 1 more cup of flour and the final product will not be as light and airy*

• 8 large egg yolks

• 1/2 cup (115 grams) melted unsalted butter PLUS another 1/2 cup (115 grams) melted SALTED butter (set this stick of melted butter a side to cool it will be used to baste the rolls before baking)

• 1 Tablespoon (about 13 grams) pure vanilla extract

• 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups (125 grams to 170 grams) icing sugar (powder sugar)

• 1 teaspoon (6 grams) table salt

Directions

1. Combine the 3/4 cup table sugar, both the lukewarm milk and lukewarm water and the active dry yeast into your stand mixer’s bowl (you can use a large mixing bowl and mix by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer) and give it a good whisk to incorporate all the ingredients then set it aside and let it rest for 5 minutes. While the yeast blooms beat the 8 yolks and then add the vanilla extract to the yolks and mix it in, then set it aside for later.

2. Time to make the Poolish (a wet sponge starter)…. Sprinkle 1 cup of the bread flour into the yeast mix and whisk well to create a smooth starter. Cover tightly with cling film or a tea towel and set it aside to rest in a draft free and warm place and let it rest for 1 hour. (While I’m mixing the Poolish I typically turn my microwave on for 3 minutes to warm up the inside of the microwave and then I sit my bowl inside the microwave to rest… it’s draft free and remains warm long enough to create an amazingly spongy Poolish). After the hour is up your Poolish should look like fluffy and have holes:

3. After the Poolish has bloomed turn on the stand mixer to its lowest setting with the mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (if you are making this by hand use a wide spatula) then add about ¼ of the egg yolk and vanilla mixture to the Poolish and incorporate then continue adding ¼ of the egg yolk mixture until you have incorporated all the yolk mixture.

4. With the mixer still on the lowest speed gradually incorporate the flour ¼ cup at a time and allowing the flour to completely combine before adding the next ¼ cup (this is important as it will whip air into the batter creating a more fluffy and airier bun in the end).

5. In a steady stream and with the mixer on the next highest setting add the melted stick of unsalted butter to the batter and allow the mixer to whip the batter for 5 minutes (or until the batter is smooth…. Whilst you are waiting for the batter to incorporate turn the microwave on for 3 to 4 minutes to warm up the inside for the resting batter to stay warm). After the 5 minutes is up the dough should look like this:

6. Preheat the oven to 375° (190 ℃) and cover the dough firmly with clingwrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Set it in a warm, draft less place to rest until doubles in size (about 1 hour if you use my microwave trick).

7. Flour a clean work surface heavily with the same flour you have used for the recipe:

8. Dump the dough out onto the work surface and cover it with more of the same flour. * side note: this dough is a very wet and sticky dough and should look like this when dumped out:

9. Flour the top of the dough heavily like this:

10. Knead the dough until all the flour is incorporated and there is little flour on the work surface (I kneaded the dough about 3 minutes).  It will still be slightly sticky but smoother and will look like this:

11. Cover the dough with clingwrap making sure that the top and sides of the ball are touching the clingwrap and let the gluten relax into itself for 15 minutes.

It will puff up a little and look smoother after it’s had time to rest:

12. Next lightly the top’s surface :

13. Flour a rolling pin and roll the dough out into a 24 inch long (about 61 centimeters) x 15 inch wide (about 39 centimeters) rectangle (I didn’t completely square the edges because rolling out dough hurts my hands, but you want to make sure you make it as squared off as possible, ALSO if you don’t have a rolling pin you can just gently stretch the dough into a rectangle as squared off as possible) :

14. Cut the dough length wise into strips about 2 fingers width (this will make large buns; you can do 1 finger length and the buns will be medium sized):

15. Gently stretch the dough strips to lengthen the strips a little then begin to coil the strips starting from the end that is closest to you, using one hand on the inside of the strip to coil and the other hand to gently hold the outside of the strip in place. Your coiled bum should look like this:

16. Gently stretch the dough strips to lengthen the strips a little then begin to coil the strips starting from the end that is closest to you, using one hand on the inside of the strip to coil and the other hand to gently hold the outside of the strip in place. Your coiled bum should look like this:

17. Gently place the coiled buns on a parchment lined baking sheet about 3 inches (8 centimeters) apart:

18. Ever so lightly brush the finished buns with the melted salted butter that you set aside at the beginning:

19. Next cover the baking sheets lightly with clingwrap and let the buns rest for 30 minutes:

20. Once the buns have rested for 30 minutes pop them into a 375° (℃) oven and bake the buns for 20-25 minutes (until golden brown):

21. Transfer all the buns to wired cooling racks (if you do not have cooling racks you can always make small, flattened balls of tinfoil and place each bun on a flattened ball to cool… cool at least 10 minutes before moving to the next step).

22. After the buns have cooled 10 minutes you can then dust the buns with icing sugar (you can add as much or as little icing sugar as you like) :

23. Plate and enjoy with cup of tea or mug of coffee for a great afternoon treat or pop it in the microwave for 15 seconds and serve it with espresso for a yummy breakfast treat:

I have found that this method, while lengthy, truly creates an amazingly airy and fluffy bun that is light and soft on the inside:

• This recipe will yield 11- 12 large buns (if you use the 2 finger width) or 24 medium buns (if you use the 1 finger width)
• Store your Mallorcas in an air tight container or on a baking sheet with tightly wrapped clingfilm.
• They keep for 2 weeks or they can be frozen before dustings with icing sugar for up to 2 months.

Well dolls that’s all for now…. I hope that if you try this recipe out you enjoy them as much as I do. I pray that you enjoy the rest of your day/night and that you are in great spirits and health.

XOXO, Nita