Folar Folhado - Portuguese Easter Bread

It's Easter Sunday and Last Minute Sally is still baking!  It would not be Easter without Folar.  This sweet bread is layered with lashings of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon which create the most aromatic syrupy caramel between each layer.  A tradition in Portugal and one which I will keep going for many years to come.  There are many variations on this sweet bread.  This one is called "Folhado" which means layered.  You will often see traditional Folar with a few boiled eggs baked into it.  You can embed the boiled eggs into the top of this Folar prior to baking if you wish but I prefer it without.

550g Plain Flour

2 heaped teaspoons of Dried Yeast

Juice of 1 large Orange

75 ml warm Milk

120g Butter - Melted

50ml Rum

3 tablespoons Raw Sugar

1 teaspoon Mixed Spice

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 egg

Pinch of Salt

For the layers:

150g melted Butter

Cinnamon to dust

100g Brown Sugar

Pre-Heat Oven to 190 degrees Celsius Fan Forced.

You will need a 20cm round cake tin.  To prepare your cake tin, grease with butter.  Place 3 small knobs of butter on the bottom of your pan.  Sprinkle a small handful of brown sugar on top.

Attach the hook attachment to your mixer.  Alternatively you can mix by hand in a large bowl and knead by hand for approximately 8-10 minutes.  Dough should look smooth and have some elasticity to it.

Warm the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds.  To the milk add the yeast and stir to combine.  The warm milk will activate the yeast.

To the bowl of your mixer add the flour.  Make a well in the middle and add the yeast mixture, orange juice, butter, rum, raw sugar, mixed spice, cinnamon egg and pinch of salt.

Start your mixer and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated and well kneaded.  This should take approximately 8 minutes. 

Once kneaded form the dough into a disc, lightly flour the top and bottom and place in a large bowl.  Cover with a towel and place in a warm place.

Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Once the dough has risen, punch down the dough.  With a rolling pin, roll out into a rectangular shape.

Using a pastry brush, brush an even layer of butter all over the dough.  

Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly on top of the butter and sprinkle the cinnamon on top of the sugar.  This while cooking will form into a nice gooey caramel.

Fold one half of the dough into the centre and the other half into the centre.  

Again brush an even layer of butter all over the dough.

Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Repeat with another fold and layer of butter, sugar and cinnamon.

This next step will be your last fold.  You should now have to rolls with one going on top of the other to form a log shape.

Gently straighten out your log to even out.

The folds are going to create the layers within the bread whilst baking.  

Form this dough into a tight coil.

Place the coil into your prepared cake tin.  

Let the dough prove in the cake tin for another half hour.

Once it has proved, bake for 35-40 minutes.

As the bread bakes it will form a nice sticky caramel on the base of your pan which will nicely coat the top of your bread once turned out.

Turn out and enjoy!

Feliz Pascoa - Happy Easter