Breakfast on the island: Pan de Mallorca

 

 

I’ve been bitten by the bread making bug. I mean a BIG bite. I’ve always shied away from bread making because I’ve not been successful at it. I either killed the yeast, used too much of it, added too much flour, forced the dough to bloom. Issues. I just faced a million issues when I tried making bread. I was sure my mom hadn’t shared that particular gene with me, because she’s an AWESOME baker.

 

 

Then I came across instructions for ciabatta and realized that I just had to try again. I’ve been stalking the guys over at the BBA for months now, and though I’m not participating in their challenge, I am baking as a result of it. I must admit I’m loving Reinhart’s approach to baking and may have found a new passion in my life. But I digress.

There is another challenge I’ve been trying to participate in, but kept missing the deadlines. Joan over at Foodalogue has a Culinary World Tour challenge. This round was all about Latin America and the Caribbean. Yep, right up my alley. And yes, I missed it every week except for the last one. Hence, this post. 

This week they’re visiting Puerto Rico and enjoying its wonderful cuisine. As luck would have it, I have the inside track on Puerto Rico. You see, I’ve been there a couple of times, my bestie’s hubby is a native and Puertorrican food is pretty similar to Panamanian food. Yeah, I’m in.

 

Originally I was thinking about pastelón or something along those lines, but with my new baking infatuation, I opted for Pan de Mallorca. A slightly sweet, creamy, egg-based bread that is traditionally served for breakfast on the island. If you go to La Bombonera, they will slice, butter and toast it for you, and serve it alongside a café con leche. Or you can have it as a sandwich stuffed with cheese, ham, eggs, bacon, anything you love. So here’s my submission for Puerto Rico:

 

 

Because I’m so into Reinhart’s poolish method, I decided to implement it for this recipe as well. To get that poolish going you will need:

 

1 tsp dry yeast

1 cp warm water

1 cp bread flour

 

Dissolve the yeast in the water–I’ve been using warm water straight from the tap, it’s barely tepid. Add the flour to your mixer’s bowl, then add the yeast/water and mix until the batter looks smooth. About 3-4 minutes. Scrape the sides, cover with plastic wrap and allow it to sit on the counter for about an hour before you put it in the fridge overnight.

 

 

Next day, when you’re ready to finish the dough, remove the poolish from the fridge and allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour before mixing the rest of the ingredients.

 

4 cps flour

3/4 tsp sea salt

6 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 stick butter, melted

1 stick butter, melted to brush on top

Powdered sugar

 

First, warm the milk, just enough to take the chill off it and dissolve the yeast into it; set aside. Into the bowl with the poolish, add the sugar, salt, yolks, milk and 1 cup of the flour and mix it until well incorporated. Then add 1 stick of the melted butter and mix evenly. Now you can start adding the rest of the flour.

 

Make sure you mix it well and that the dough looks smooth. It will probably need to be mixed for 4-5 minutes, the dough will begin to separate from the sides, but it will still be a very moist dough.  Set aside and allow the dough to rise for about an hour or so.

Lightly dust the countertop where you will work the dough. Make sure the second stick of butter is ready to go, you will also need a pastry brush. Turn the dough onto the countertop and divide it into 15 portions.

Roll each portion under your hands making it into long strip–channel your inner kindergartener and have some fun. Once you have a long strip, brush it with butter and roll into a coil.

I found that the best method is to roll in one end, then pick up the length of the strip and roll it around the center. This kept the coils nice and flat. Make sure you tuck the end under the coiled dough and transfer to a greased baking sheet or one lined with silpat/parchment paper. Brush the tops with more butter and continue rolling the rest of the dough.

Set the tray aside and allow them to rise again until they have doubled in size. It took about 30-40 minutes for that to happen.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375°. Bake them for 8 minutes and rotate the tray, then bake for another 8-10 minutes.

When they come out of the oven, brush the tops with a bit more butter before transferring them to a cooling rack. Dust them with powdered sugar before eating.

Now, for your personal edification, I will toast one and serve it as it is served at La Bombonera. I must admit to you, this is NOT skinny toasty bread. It IS all about the butter. Lots of it. What they do in Puerto Rico is slice ‘em in half, slather them with butter, put them together again and press them on a giant Panini press type thing. Since I don’t have a Panini, I use a more… rustic method.

After slicing  and buttering ‘em I put them in a skillet that already has MORE butter melted and ready for ‘em. I keep the heat on medium low to avoid toasting it too much. Also, place the Mallorca in the butter, then flip it right away, this way you pick up butter on both sides of it. Then cover it with piece of foil and put a heavy pan over it. Press down to flatten the Mallorca.