Mallorcas Recipe...

This breakfast roll is a favorite amongst Puerto Ricans. Here's my recipe that was featured in Saveur Magazine.

If anyone of Mami’s Maniacs would like to send trinkets, Starbucks gift cards or nail polish:

Mami Maisonet
5960 S Land Park #222
Sacramento, CA 95822

If you want to contribute to this artist in residence, mami’s f’ing expensive ass burgers or Dollar Tree visits:

Venmo: @illya-maiso

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The Maisonet’s is LIVE. We’re eating Fijian-Indian food and talking statehood for Puerto Rico.

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The weather has turned for the worse here in the Central Valley. It’s hot. I hate it.

The days have been peaking at a full sunshine, no clouds, 80 degrees. The cherry orchards are in full bloom, but will wither within the next few days. And I just received my first dose of the vaccine. My arm was sore for two days.

As Mami is still on the “No” side of the fence, she came with me for moral support. The entire process was extremely streamlined, at a huge gymnasium type of place, but I just hate the way all of our medical experiences feel so…cattle-like. Or, is that just me? I never feel human when I’m going to the doctor or anything to do with the medical field. Even though we made appointments for our vax, we still had to stand in line to get into the building. Stand in line to get to the coordinators who were taking our info. Stand in line to be seated. Sit in line until a kiosk was available. Poked. And then sit and wait for after effects. Schedule another appointment and exit the gymnasium.

It was crowded as can be. The music was loud. Hundreds of people’s voices echoed and bounced off the hardwood floors. It was an introvert’s nightmare.

However, it gave Mami a little more motivation to be pro-active and call to inquire about when she could get hers. And the call center’s automated voice service told her to make an appointment online. Which is weird. She can call into the call center and make an appointment right then and there. But, she has to GO ONLINE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO BE VACCINATED?! That is bullshit and discriminatory, because Mami does not have cable or internet! And I’m sure there are others in her barrio that are in the same boat. Her eyesight isn’t the best to do it on her tiny phone.

Fortunately, I can do it for her. But, that means…I have to do it for her. Another task on my list.

Have you done it yet? Leave a comment down below and tell me your experience.

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Originally published: Dec 2, 2019 via Saveur

In my kitchen in Oakland, California, I preheated my cast-iron comal and slipped a pat of butter onto the surface. I’d just gotten home from New Orleans, where at an artisanal bakery I’d purchased a mallorca, a sweet spiral bun made by a baker from Puerto Rico, who was in turn following a centuries-old formula that can be traced back to a tiny island off the coast of Spain. Removing the pastry from my backpack, where I’d kept it safe and unsquashed on the 2,000-mile journey, I sliced it in half and set both sides face down on the griddle. I made a sandwich like the ones you’ll often find in Puerto Rico, where my family is from, with some crispy bacon and melted American cheese, a decadent treat made even more so by the traditional snowfall of confectioners’ sugar I dusted over the top.

Fluffy and pleasantly sweet, mallorcas travel well across breakfast cultures. Originally called ensaïmadas, they were first documented in the late 18th century—though they likely had been made for centuries before that—when a Franciscan friar began collecting and recording a number of recipes from the Balearic Islands, the eastern Spanish archipelago that includes Mallorca. As he noted, bakers there would roll out the yeasted, enriched dough; spread it with lard (called saïm in Catalan, from which the bread’s original name derives); shape it into its signature coil; and bake it until risen and golden. According to Tomeu Arbona, owner of El Fornet de la Soca bakery in Palma, Mallorca, the bread’s first bakers were likely Sephardic Jews. “Ensaïmadas were originally a sweet bread for the Sabbath,” he says, “similar to what we would now call challah.” While he earliest ones were likely made using kosher butter or oil, there are records of Jews switching to baking with lard—decidedly against their beliefs—during the massacres and persecution led by the Catholic church in the 14th and 15th centuries. While many Jews continued to practice their faith in secret, some of these conversos cooked with lard to convince the church of their loyalty.

Centuries later, mallorcas are a staple at bakeries in San Juan, Puerto Rico, thanks to Antonio Rigo, who, in 1900, crossed the Atlantic from Felanitx, Mallorca, with his family recipe in tow. Within two years, he’d opened Mallorquina Bakery, which ultimately became La Bombonera, a cafe that still makes some of the best mallorcas on the island. The bread swiftly took on a life of its own there, ultimately manifesting as the sweet, griddled ham-and-cheese versions found today in cafes across San Juan.

Their legacy, though, is still on the move. At Levee Baking Co. in New Orleans, self-taught Puerto Rican baker Diego Martin-Perez was making his own version of mallorcas­—the one I brought home with me—with wild yeasts and freshly milled heirloom grains. Now Diego works on his own, creating a company called Pan Fuerza. Still tinkering with the mallorca recipe ensuring they are both unique, but still possess the soft quality he remembers from his childhood. Unlike the mallorcas I’ve had in San Juan, Martin-Perez’s are hefty, but with a strong rise and distinct sourdough aroma. He says that, growing up in Puerto Rico, mallorcas represented “sheer nostalgia. We had a bakery across the street from my school, and they were my after-school snack. If I went alone, I’d get a plain, toasted mallorca. If I went with my mom, we’d get a six-pack.” With Balzebre’s help, Martin-Perez has found a new market for his hometown pastries—across yet another great distance. At home in Oakland, I can’t help but feel that their journey isn’t over yet.

Large Bowls

Fork or Wooden Spoon

Plastic Wrap

Large Baking Sheet

Rolling Pin

Yields: 6 servings

1 (¼-oz.) package active dry yeast

½ cup whole milk

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and divided, plus more for greasing

3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

In a large bowl, add the yeast and ¼ cup warm water (115°F). Set aside until foamy, about 10 minutes, then using a fork or wooden spoon, stir in the milk, 4 tablespoons melted butter, and the egg yolks until smooth. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Grease a separate large bowl with melted butter and transfer the dough into it. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until just about doubled in size, 50–60 minutes.

Butter a large baking sheet and set aside. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to an 18-by-8-inch rectangle. Brush the surface of the dough evenly with the remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter, then starting at one of the short ends, roll the rectangle up into a tight cylinder. Slice the cylinder crosswise into 6 equal pieces, then transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spacing at least 3 inches apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, then set aside until puffed and nearly doubled in size, 1½–2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375°F, with a rack in the center. Uncover the rolls and bake until lightly browned and cooked through, 15–18 minutes. Let cool slightly, then dust generously with confectioners' sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature.