Leiria All Saints Buns
Also known as: Sweet Merendeira · Leiria All Saints Buns · Leiria Pão por Deus Buns · All Saints Sweet Breads
An All Saints sweet bread kneaded with olive oil, aniseed and nuts.
- Origin
- Leiria · Beira Litoral
- Region
- Leiria · Beira Litoral
- Season
- All Saints and Pão por Deus; now also year-round
Leiria's Merendeiras dos Santos are rustic, aromatic individual sweet breads made with wheat flour, eggs, olive oil, white and brown sugar, cinnamon, aniseed and lemon zest. Baker's yeast gives them a crumb closer to bread than cake; nuts and dried fruit may be scattered through the dough.
Before baking, they are brushed with egg and sprinkled with sugar. The result is a golden, irregular, lightly cracked bun substantial enough for a snack. It should not be confused with the small, dry almond Broa dos Santos documented in other areas.
- wheat flour
- eggs
- olive oil
- white and brown sugar
- cinnamon
- aniseed
- baker's yeast
- milk
- lemon zest
- optional nuts and dried fruit
Moderately sweet, soft and aromatic, with olive oil, lemon, cinnamon and aniseed over an enriched bread crumb.
They may contain walnuts, almonds, raisins or other dried fruit. The Leiria region also has sweet-potato merendeiras, a quicker relative without the same long yeast rise.
At bakeries and markets around Leiria, especially in late October and early November; some producers keep commercial versions year-round.
Milky coffee, tea, or toasted with butter after a few days.
In Leiria, these buns belong to the All Saints and Pão por Deus season. Family practice included making the sign of the cross over the dough before covering it to rise, a gesture accompanying the hope for a good fermentation.
As with many offering cakes made for the first day of November, the name changes from place to place: merendeiras, broinhas, All Saints cakes and Pão por Deus cakes may denote close relatives. The Leiria version is distinguished by its yeasted dough enriched with olive oil and spices.
Sources: miluem.blogs.sapo.pt · panificadoracandeeiros.pt · pastelaria.online
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