Bola Doce Mirandesa — a Sendim family recipe
Virgílio Nogueiro Gomes collected this formula from the family of Amélia das Dores Cangueiro Ferreira of Sendim. It matches the identity documented by DGADR: bread dough enriched with eggs, butter and olive oil, opened into seven sheets and layered with sugar and cinnamon. This is a large-format home recipe; timing and thickness may vary with the tray and oven.
- Yields
- 1 large tray, 24-30 servings
- Prep
- 1 hr, plus 1-2 hrs proving
- Cook
- 50-60 min
Ingredients
- 1.25 kg Wheat flour, plus extra for working
- 4 Eggs
- 125 g, plus extra for greasing Melted butter, lukewarm
- 100 ml Olive oil
- 500 ml Lukewarm water
- 30 g Fresh baker's yeast
- 1 generous pinch Salt
- 700 g Soft brown sugar, with a small proportion of white sugar if desired
- 3-4 tbsp, to taste Ground cinnamon
Method
Put the flour in a kneading trough or very large bowl and make a well. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water with the salt and pour it into the centre.
Begin kneading. Mix the melted butter with the olive oil and lightly beaten eggs; gradually work them into the dough, making sure the fats are not hot. Knead vigorously as for bread until elastic, soft and still slightly loose.
Cover and prove in a draught-free place until doubled in volume, normally 1-2 hours depending on temperature.
Generously butter a large, deep-sided rectangular tray, about 30 × 40 cm. Divide the dough into seven portions. Reserve about one seventh of the sugar for the top and mix the cinnamon into the remainder.
Stretch the first portion by hand slightly thicker than the others and line the base and sides, leaving enough dough at the edge to seal. Spread an even layer of the cinnamon sugar.
Stretch each of the next five portions very thinly, preferably by hand without tearing, and lay them across the base only. Distribute cinnamon sugar between every sheet. Cover with the seventh sheet and join it to the edges of the first, forming a sealed rim.
Sprinkle the top with the reserved sugar only, omitting cinnamon so it does not burn, and prick in several places with a skewer. Bake in a preheated 200 °C / 390 °F oven for 50-60 minutes. If it browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil.
Leave to cool in the tray before cutting into squares. The cinnamon-sugar layers should remain moist and clearly defined.
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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