Ensaymada

Ingredients

• For the dough
• 500 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 7 g instant yeast
• 100 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 6 egg yolks, room temperature; no whites
• 125 ml whole milk, warm
• 150 g unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
• For the butter frosting
• 120 g unsalted butter, room temperature, beaten until light and spreadable
• 80 g icing sugar, sifted
• For the simple syrup
• 50 g caster sugar
• 50 ml water, combined with sugar in a 1:1 ratio
• For the topping
• 120 g queso de bola (Edam cheese), coarsely grated

Method

1. 1
   Combine the flour, instant yeast, caster sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the egg yolks and warm milk. Mix on low speed until the ingredients come together into a rough dough, then increase to medium speed and knead for 8–10 minutes. The dough is ready when it is smooth, elastic, and pulls cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
2. 2
   With the mixer running on medium-low speed, add the room-temperature unsalted butter a few pieces at a time, waiting until each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next. This is where the dish lives or dies: butter added too quickly breaks the dough's structure and produces a greasy, slack mass that will never recover its elasticity; each piece must disappear entirely into the dough before the next is introduced. Continue until all 150 g of butter is absorbed and the dough is silky, supple, and slightly tacky — it will hold its shape when pulled.
3. 3
   Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, shape into a ball, and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and prove at room temperature for a minimum of 2 hours. The dough is ready when it has approximately doubled in volume and a finger pressed into its surface leaves an indentation that springs back slowly.
4. 4
   Punch down the dough and divide into six equal portions of approximately 150 g each. Working with one portion at a time, roll the dough into a thin rope approximately 35–40 cm long. Coil the rope from the centre outward into a tight spiral, tucking the tail underneath. Place each spiral into a greased ensaymada mold or individual fluted tart ring. Cover loosely and prove for a further 2 hours minimum. The rolls are ready when they are visibly puffed, fill their molds, and feel light and airy when the mold is lifted.
5. 5
   Bake in an oven preheated to 170 °C (conventional) for 18–22 minutes. The ensaymada are done when the tops are a pale, even golden-yellow — not deep brown, which would indicate a dry, toughened crumb — and the rolls sound hollow when tapped on the base.
6. 6
   While the ensaymada are baking, dissolve the caster sugar in the water over low heat to make a simple syrup. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until just warm. As soon as the baked ensaymada come out of the oven, brush each roll generously with the warm syrup. The surface should appear slightly glossy and feel tacky to the fingertip.
7. 7
   Allow the ensaymada to cool fully to room temperature before frosting. Beat the room-temperature unsalted butter with the sifted icing sugar until pale and spreadable. Spread this butter frosting thickly and evenly over the top of each roll. The butter must neither tear the surface — which indicates it is too cold — nor disappear into the crumb, which indicates the roll is still warm. It should sit as a distinct, opaque, creamy layer on the surface.
8. 8
   Shower each frosted ensaymada immediately with coarsely grated queso de bola. The coarse shreds should remain as visible, distinct, salty flecks against the pale butter frosting — fine grating melts invisibly into the surface and defeats the textural contrast that defines the finished bread.