Ensaimada de Mallorca

Ensaimada is a delicious sweet bread, something between puff pastry and sweet brioche.

The recipe requires lard, I replaced it with butter (I know this sacrificed authenticity), I also added sourdough starter, and the final product turned out absolutely delicious. But if you don’t have sourdough starter, the recipe works perfect with yeast.

The recipe was adapted from the talented Sylvain Vernay.

Ingredients

Sourdough Starter 

• 10g sourdough starter
• 30g water
• 30g bread flour

Dough

• 250g bread flour 
• 80g water 
• 60g sourdough starter 
• 1 egg
• 80g sugar 
• 5g salt 
• 25g soft butter ( or lard)
• 1g dry yeast (optional, to reduce sourness)
• Powdered sugar for dusting final product 

Shaping

• 200g soft butter (or lard)

Directions 

Day 1

Starter

• 8 am add liquid starter to the water and whisk together, add flour, mix well, let ferment covered at room temp 74-78F until it increases in size
• In about 6 hours starter has to triple or more in volume.
• Learn how to make starter from scratch here).

Dough

• 2 pm in a bowl of mixer add water, sourdough starter, yeast (if using), sugar and an egg and whisk all together. Add flour, mix until no dry flour remains, cover and let autolyse for 30 min.
• 2.30 pm Start mixing the dough on low speed of your mixing machine for 2-3 minutes, or KitchenAid on speed 3 for 3-4 minutes until well incorporated.
• Add salt and mix for a couple more minutes. The dough should form a ball.
• Add soft butter (or lard) , mix for 7-10 more minutes on high speed until the dough is well incorporated and comes up together during mixing.
• Cover and let it rest for 1 hour at 76-80F/ 24-28C.
• During that time perform 1 stretches and fold.

Shaping

• You will need a big surface for stretching the dough.
• 3.30 pm oil the work surface with neutral oil without flavor.
• Place the dough in the center, and try to stretch it by hands until it’s 4-5 mm thick
• Spread the soft butter or lard(if using) all over the surface.

Note: butter should be spread on the dough before you will start to stretch it. Otherwise it will start to rip if you’ll be applying the butter to the already stretched dough.

• When all butter applied, start stretching the dough as thin as possible to cover all working surface.
• Be gentle, but try to stretch the dough as thin as possible.
• Then roll the dough into a long roll.
• Cover it and let rest for 30 min
• 4 pm stretch the roll until it will get longer and evenly shaped. Stretch it until it will become 2-3 am thick in diameter.
• Place parchment paper on a tray, and try to shape the roll into a snail. But make sure to leave some space (about 2 cm) in between each spiral.
• Let it proof covered at 74-78F for about 3 hours,
• 7 pm transfer your ensaimada to a cooler please, where temperature is about 64-68F and let proof until next morning.

Day 2

Next morning ensaimada has to double or more in volume. If not, let it proof at warmer place for 2-3 hours.

Baking

• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Bake ensaimada for 20-25 min.
• Let it cool down and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
• Enjoy.

Ensaïmada de Mallorca (Sourdough Method)

3022kcal

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Prep 45 minutes mins

Cook 25 minutes mins

Total 23 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Ensaïmada is a spectacular, traditional sweet bread from Mallorca that sits beautifully between a flaky puff pastry and a rich, pillowy sweet brioche. While the most traditional variations rely heavily on pork lard to achieve their delicate, paper-thin layers, this recipe swaps it out for butter—delivering an intensely rich, melt-in-your-mouth pastry that is finished with a heavy dusting of powdered sugar.

Servings 1 Ensaimada

Cuisine Spanish

Ingredients

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The Sourdough Starter Levain (Built 6 Hours Before)

• ▢ 10 g Sourdough starter culture
• ▢ 30 g Water
• ▢ 30 g Bread flour

The Enriched Pastry Dough

• ▢ 250 g Bread flour (100%)
• ▢ 80 g Water (32%)
• ▢ 60 g Active sourdough starter levain (24% – From the stage above)
• ▢ 1 Large egg (approx. 50g / 20%)
• ▢ 80 g Sugar (32%)
• ▢ 5 g Salt (2%)
• ▢ 25 g Soft unsalted butter (10% – Or authentic pork lard, softened completely to room temperature)
• ▢ 1 g Dry instant yeast (Optional helper pinch used strictly to reduce natural sourdough sourness)

The Laminating Fill & Golden Bakery Dusting

• ▢ 200 g Soft unsalted butter (Or pork lard, completely softened for spreading)
• ▢ Powdered sugar (Reserved strictly for a heavy decorative dust finish)

Equipment

• ▢
  Stand Mixer (Fitted with a dough hook attachment)
• ▢
  Large Baking Sheet & Parchment Paper
• ▢
  Rolling Pin (Optional, though stretching is primarily done by hand)
• ▢
  Pastry Brush
• ▢
  Kitchen Scale

Method

Prevent Sleep ModePrevent Sleep Mode

Day 1 – Levain Setup, Dough Enrichment, and Lamination

1. 8:00 AM: In a small glass jar, dissolve your 10g of starter culture into 30g of water. Whisk together cleanly, then stir in 30g of bread flour. Mix thoroughly, cover loosely, and let it ferment at room temperature 74–78°F (23–26°C) for roughly 6 hours until it at least triples in volume.
2. 2:00 PM – The Autolyse: In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the 80g of water, 60g of active starter, 1 large egg, 80g of sugar, and the optional 1g of dry yeast. Whisk together, then dump all 250g of bread flour on top. Mix until a shaggy mass forms with no dry spots, cover, and let autolyse for 30 minutes.
3. 2:30 PM: Attach your dough hook. Mix the dough on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes (or on a KitchenAid mixer on speed 3 for 3 to 4 minutes) until cohesive. Sprinkle in the 5g of salt and mix for 2 more minutes until a firm ball gathers around the hook.
4. The Fat Incorporation: Turn your machine to high speed and drop in the 25g of soft butter (or lard). Knead continuously for 7 to 10 minutes until the fat incorporates seamlessly and the dough clears the sides of the bowl beautifully. Cover and let rest for 1 hour at a warm 76–80°F (24–28°C). Perform exactly 1 round of structural stretch-and-folds during this rest.
5. 3:30 PM – The Paper-Thin Hand Stretch: Lightly coat a very large workspace with a neutral, flavorless oil. Place the dough in the center and use your hands to flatten it out until it is roughly 4 to 5 mm thick.
6. Gently spread all 200g of your ultra-soft laminating butter across the entire surface of the dough sheet. Critical Guardrail: You must spread the butter onto the dough before you stretch it thin. Attempting to apply heavy butter to an already stretched, paper-thin sheet will slice and rip the delicate structure apart.
7. Once the butter is evenly spread, wet your hands and gently pull the dough from the center outward, stretching it across your counter as paper-thin and translucent as possible.
8. Starting from one edge, roll the thin dough sheet up tightly into a long, dense rope. Cover the rope and let it sit undisturbed for 30 minutes to relax the gluten.
9. 4:00 PM – The Snail Spiral Shape: Gently pull and stretch the rolled rope lengthwise until it becomes longer, evenly shaped, and tapers down to roughly 2 to 3 cm in diameter.
10. Line a large tray with parchment paper. Arrange the elongated rope into a classic coiled snail shape (spiral), ensuring you leave a clear 2 cm gap of empty space between each spiral layer to allow room for growth.
11. Cover loosely and let proof at a warm room temperature of 74–78°F (23–26°C) for 3 hours.
12. 7:00 PM: Move the tray into a cooler room or proofing area sitting at a steady 64–68°F (18–20°C) and allow it to proof slowly overnight until the next morning.

Day 2 – Double-Volume Bake & Sugar Coating

1. Next Morning: Verify that your ensaïmada has completely expanded, filled in its empty spiral gaps, and at least doubled in total volume. (If it still looks dense or tight, move the tray to a warmer spot for 2 to 3 hours to finish puffing).
2. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
3. Slide the tray onto the middle rack and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20 to 25 minutes until the expanding flaky layers turn a uniform, gorgeous golden brown.
4. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool down completely. Using a fine-mesh sieve, heavily dust the entire surface with a thick, snowy layer of powdered sugar before slicing into it!

Nutrition

Calories3022kcalCarbohydrates286gProtein45gFat192gSaturated Fat118gPolyunsaturated Fat10gMonounsaturated Fat49gTrans Fat7gCholesterol655mgSodium451mgPotassium479mgFiber7gSugar81gVitamin A5873IUVitamin C0.2mgCalcium133mgIron4mg

Notes

• Substituting Butter for Traditional Authenticity: While this formula utilizes 200g of soft unsalted butter to make ingredient shopping simple, authentic Spanish ensaïmadas historically rely on pork lard (known locally in Mallorca as saïm, which gives the pastry its name). If you have access to high-quality leaf lard, you can substitute it dynamic-for-dynamic with the butter weight to capture that traditional flavor profile and texture.
• The Non-Negotiable Butter Shingling Rule: Pay close attention to the sequencing in step 6. Beginners often try to stretch the dough thin first and then smear the heavy butter on top. This mistake will catch on the delicate skin and tear the expanding gluten sheets apart. Spreading the soft fat across the thicker 5mm sheet allows the butter to slide effortlessly alongside the dough as you stretch it to paper-thin transparency.
• The Importance of the 2 cm Expansion Gap: When coiling your long rolled rope into the signature snail design on your baking tray, do not wrap it tightly against itself. The dough needs plenty of room to expand during its long, slow 14-hour overnight proof and explosive oven spring. Leaving a clear 2 cm air buffer between each ring ensures the interior layers steam and puff up beautifully without squeezing into a dense, gummy center.
• Why the Helper Pinch of Yeast is Included: Including a tiny 1g pinch of dry commercial yeast alongside your active sourdough levain serves an important flavor purpose. Because this pastry undergoes a long, multi-stage proofing process over 24 hours, the commercial yeast works as a gentle accelerator. This prevents the dough from developing a sharp, acidic, sour tang—preserving that sweet, buttery profile characteristic of a classic European bakery pastry.

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