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The Bakery 100 · make it at home

Ensaïmadas

Overnight, 45 min hands-on · 8 small spirals

Mallorca's spiral: a soft dough stretched paper-thin, brushed with lard, coiled and proofed overnight until airy, then dusted with sugar.

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The real one

You need

• 500 g bread flour (4 cups)
• 100 g sugar (1/2 cup)
• 7 g instant yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 200 ml warm water (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 100 g soft lard or butter (7 tbsp), for spreading
• Powdered sugar, to finish

How to make it

1. Dough (15 min plus 1 hr): Knead everything except the lard and powdered sugar for 10 to 12 minutes into a very soft, smooth, elastic dough. Rest covered 1 hour.
2. Divide (5 min plus 20 min): Cut into 8 pieces, oil them, and rest 20 minutes.
3. Stretch (15 min): Oil the counter. Roll a piece into a thin rectangle, then stretch it with your fingertips until it's nearly see-through, about 20 x 40 cm.
4. Lard and roll (10 min): Spread with soft lard. Roll up tightly from a long side into a thin rope. Stretch the rope a little longer, then coil it loosely into a spiral, tucking the end under. Set on lined trays with room to grow.
5. Proof (8 to 12 hr): Cover and proof overnight at cool room temperature, until tripled and very airy.
6. Bake (15 min): Mist with water and bake at 180C (350F) 12 to 15 minutes until pale golden. Cool and dust heavily with powdered sugar.

Tips

• Lard is traditional and gives the light, flaky texture.
• Don't rush the proof: the long rise is the ensaïmada.

Chef Amazing's own home version of ensaïmada, in our words; not any bakery's recipe.