Another Rosca -- a Pinedo recipe

Miss Pinedo's recipe for Orange Roscas did not work for me -- I failed at making a tasty, fluffy bread.  Click here to see that post.

There were a variety of reasons I suspect made it fail.  I wanted to make roscas that worked, so I tried her third recipe under the Roscas section, titled "Other."  (Page 234)

My Translation

My Redaction & Notes

For the dough:

2 cups of yeast water (see note below)

4 well-beaten eggs

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

1 cup scalded milk (heated to about 180 degrees F then cooled to room temperature)

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 pounds bread flour, plus extra to use while shaping the dough

For the "smear":

1/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

And the yeast water

To make the yeast water, mix 2 cups of warm water with 1/2 cup flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 2 teaspoons dried yeast.  Let it proof for 1 hour in a warm location.  Stir well before adding to the dough.

Mix all dough ingredients other than the flour together in a big bowl.  Add flour one pound at a time, mixing well, then the last 1/2 pound (or so) to get a dough that is soft and sticky.  (Note that I chose bread flour this time.)

Knead well.  I used a mixer with a kneading hook and worked the dough until it was not as sticky and was holding together well.  It was still "loose" and sticky, just not as much as it was before I kneaded it.

Grease your hands with butter and use a knife or scissors to cut off chunks of dough.  From the wording in Miss Pinedo's recipe, I decided these should be individual rolls instead of a large ring.  Most of the balls of dough weighed about 5 ounces; this made 18 rolls (see "The Verdict" below).  Shape them and place them on greased baking sheets.

Let the rolls rise for about 30 to 45 minutes or until doubled.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. while they are rising.  Mix the sugar and milk well to make the smear, then let stand while the rolls rise.

When the rolls are ready, brush each gently with the smear mixture.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the rolls sound hollow when tapped.  At the 10 minute mark, I switched the pans top-to-bottom to help them brown evenly.

Remove from oven, place rolls on racks to cool.

The dough is nearly ready for kneading.

About 4 ounces by weight each

Five ounces by weight each

Risen and smeared 1

Risen and smeared 2

I checked them at 15 minutes by pulling the pans out of the oven then quickly taking one rosca and cutting it down the middle.  The center looked a little moist, so I decided to put the pans back in for another 5 minutes, making it 20 minutes total.

Still a tiny bit moist in the middle.

Here they are at the 20 minute mark.  Beautiful!

No cracks!

The Verdict

I cut a rosca in half and was very happy to see the delicate crumb, the good-sized and well-distributed holes, and how the center's moisture looked just right.  The roll was light, fluffy, and sprang back when lightly pressed.  The crust was even and a golden brown.

Perfectly baked.  I am astonished.

I tasted it and found it to be good.  If anything, it could have had more salt, however my guest taster (who is a salt lover) thought it was just right.  I did wish for the orange flavoring of the previous rosca; perhaps I will add orange juice and zest to this recipe if I do it again.  

One guest taster said it reminded her of brioche, and I think that assessment is spot on.  All the guest tasters enjoyed the flavor of the bread as it was, without butter or any other addition.

Success!  Now I am more convinced that a kettle cup (una taza caldera) is a pint, or 16 ounces in volume.  I've been trying to figure that out for months.  

It is not a sweet bread.  There is no sugar in the dough other than what I included in the yeast water.  Overall, I would call it a very good dinner roll, and it is also good for a sandwich.  With that in mind, I think the 5 ounce weight of dough made dinner rolls that were too big.  Three or four ounces would have been better so as not to overwhelm the eater with so much bread.  However, we felt the 5 ounce size would be good for a hamburger bun.  

I still want it to be iced and decorated, just like a Rosca de Reyes, so I decided to give that a try with a Pinedo recipe for the icing.  Come back tomorrow for that post.