Arrufadas de Coimbra — Hélio Loureiro's Formula
This Continente formula attributed to Hélio Loureiro makes eight arrufadas with the dough crown described by DGADR. It was published for a cooking machine; the steps below retain the published temperatures, timings and sequence while expressing the operations without requiring the machine's programme names.
- Yields
- 8 arrufadas
- Prep
- About 3 hr 10 min, including proving
- Cook
- About 20 min
Ingredients
- 60 g / about 60 ml, plus extra for brushing Milk
- 30 g / 1.1 oz Fresh baker's yeast
- 500 g / 17.6 oz, plus extra for dusting Plain flour
- 3 Eggs
- 125 g / 4.4 oz Sugar
- 1 coffee spoon, optional in the published formula Ground cinnamon
- 70 g / 2.5 oz Softened butter
- 1 Egg yolk for brushing
Method
Warm the 60 g of milk with the crumbled yeast at 37°C / 99°F for 3 minutes, stirring.
Add the flour, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and butter and knead for 2 minutes, until the dough comes together.
Shape into a ball, dusting your hands with flour only if needed. Cover and prove for 2 hours.
Reserve a little dough and shape the remainder into eight balls of about 100 g / 3.5 oz, spaced apart on a lined tray.
Divide the reserved dough into eight ropes, close them into rings and place one crown on each arrufada. Prove for another hour.
Heat the oven to 200°C / 390°F. Brush with the yolk, diluted with a few drops of milk if needed, and bake for about 20 minutes, shielding with foil if the surface darkens too quickly.
Sources for this recipe
The quantities and method were checked against the references below. Family recipes may vary; where no single official formula exists, we present a representative practical version and say so plainly.
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