Bola recipe

Bola recipe

This article was published by: Matthew

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About this recipe

In this blog post I will take you thru the steps and ingredients needed to craft this recipe. Grab your favorite apron and let's go.
Bola recipe is a traditional dish known for its delicious and savory taste. This recipe has been passed down through generations, originating from a specific region. With a combination of carefully selected ingredients and a unique cooking method, this dish is sure to impress your taste buds. Whether you're hosting a dinner party or simply craving something flavorful, Bola recipe is a must-try.

Keywords: traditional, savory, generations, unique, flavorful.

Bola recipe details

Bola recipe, recipe Rating: 4.2
Number of votes:86 

Ingredients

2 ½ tsp	dry, active yeast
150 g	caster sugar
250 ml	water, lukewarm
450 g	plain flour
¼ tsp	salt
225 g	butter, at room temperature
2 medium	eggs, beaten
200 g	mixed peel, chopped
8	balls preserved ginger, drained but reserve syrup
2 tbsp	soft brown sugar
2 tsp	ground cinnamon
150 g	ground almonds
4 tbsp	water or use 3 tbsp water plus 1 tbsp orange flower water
	‘hundreds and thousands’ aka sugar sprinkles, for decoration

Instructions

In a bowl, mix yeast with 1 tsp of sugar and the warm water. Cover with cling film to activate yeast; bubbles should form after about 15-20 minutes.

Sift flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour yeast mixture into well and mix roughly. Cover bowl and leave for 15 minutes to start to rise.

Soften about 50g of the butter and mix in to the flour mixture together with the eggs. Beat until
smooth. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until no longer sticky. Transfer to a greased bowl and cover again. Allow to rise in a warm place for at least 45 minutes, until doubled in size.

Lightly chop the mixed peel and finely chop the ginger. Mix together in a bowl and add brown sugar, cinnamon and almonds. Mix well to distribute.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out until ½ inch or 12mm thick. Spread half the butter over the entire surface and fold dough in half. Roll out once more until ½ inch or 12 mm thick and spread remaining butter over the surface. Fold in half again to form a rough triangle. Divide into four equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball and then roll out to again to an 8 inch, 20 cm round; you may need to make them a little larger to tightly fit the tins. For reasons of space, you may prefer to roll out no more than 2 at a time.

Grease two 8 inch, 20cm cake tins (I suggest using loose-bottomed tins to ease removal) and fit a round of dough tightly into the base of each. Divide the filling mixture between the two tins and spread out fairly evenly without pressing down. Roll out the remaining rounds as before and use to cover each of the cakes.

Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 7, 42°5F, 220°C.

In a saucepan, place remaining sugar, the remaining water (and orange flour water if used) and the reserved syrup from the ginger (otherwise use 1-2 tbsp) and boil for about 10 minutes. Brush the top of each cake with a portion of the syrup and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove cakes from oven and brush with another portion of syrup. Return to oven to bake for a further 30 minutes. Immediately brush again with remaining syrup and decorate with ‘hundreds and thousands’. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes and carefully remove from tins. You may need to run a knife around the sides to release; exercise care if using non-stick tins as they can sometimes be easily damaged. Allow to cool completely and cut into wedges to serve.

About the recipe:
Bola and Bollo translates as ‘Ball’ in the respective languages. First known in Europe on the Iberian peninsular, it apparently moved to Italy with Jewish immigrants at the time of the Spanish Inquisitions. The name is believed to derive from the balls of dough created at a late stage in the recipe. Because of layers of butter within the finished, uncooked dough it usually separates in parts into distinct layers of soft yeasty pastry broadly similar in texture to that of a light bun. Often reserved for special events, religious holidays and celebrations.

Preparation time:
ca. 2 hrs 30 min
Grade of difficulty:
medium
Calories per portion:
n/a