Rosquilhas (Sweet Bread Biscuits)

Hi All,

This is another recipe that I made with my Grandma Teodora while in Boise a couple of weeks ago.  They’re a sweet bread biscuit, and are so good, especially with a cup of coffee or tea.  They take time to rise and bake, so be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to make these.

Yields: 30 biscuits

Ingredients:

Yeast Mixture:

3/4 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons or 1/2 packet of active dry yeast
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

Dough:

6 eggs
1/2 tablespoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
zest from 1/2 a lemon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons canola oil
3/4 cup water and milk
8 1/2 to 9 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1) To prepare the yeast, pour water into a small bowl.  Add the yeast and sugar, and whisk.  Set aside for 8-10 minutes, until it becomes foamy.

2) In a large mixing bowl, mix the eggs, salt, sugar, lemon zest, butter and oil, until it’s smooth and creamy.  Add in the yeast mixture.  Using the same bowl that held the yeast mixture, combine both water and milk to reach 3/4 cups, swirl it around – in order to get all of the remaining yeast – and pour into the mixing bowl, and mix.

3) Add the flour. The dough should not be sticky. If it is, add flour as needed. Remove the dough from the bowl, and begin kneading for approximately 5 minutes.  Place in a bowl, cover tightly and set aside in a dry, room-temperature area and allow it to rise for 2 hours or until it’s doubled in size.

4) Dust a large board or other flat surface with flour. Grab a small handful of the dough, and starting in the center of the dough, begin rolling it outwards by using the palms of your hands.  Keep rolling outwards, until it’s long and skinny.  With your left hand, roll the left end of the dough upwards, twisting it as you do so, and hold it still.  With your other hand, take the right end of the dough and flip it upwards to the left and bring it over, forming a sort of bow.  The end you’re still holding with your left hand, flip it over, laying it on top of the other end.  It will look like a small braid at this point.  Fold the right end over once more, press down to stick together, and cut the ends off diagonally like the ends of a bow.

5) Preheat oven to 300°. Place biscuits onto a lightly greased baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Cover and allow to rise for another 30 minutes. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Lower oven to 275° and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown.

Eat up!