Ensaïmadas; The Bread Baking Babes do Mallorca

500g all-purpose flour (plus additional as needed )  I used another 1/8th cup

75g sugar

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

40g fresh yeast (= 1 cube)   3 tsp active dry yeast

200-250ml lukewarm milk    I used about 180ml

2 eggs (M)

2 tbsp olive oil

150g soft pork lard     olive oil – didn’t measure

powdered sugar for dusting    with mon mari being diabetic I skipped this

Add
the flour together with sugar and salt into a large bowl (I used my
KitchenAid bowl) and mix well. Make a hollow in the center, add the
crumbled yeast as well as a decent pinch of sugar and pour over just
enough of the lukewarm milk until the yeast is covered. Stir the yeast
milk once or twice, then cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let
rest for about 15 minutes or until the surface of the yeast milk looks
bubbly.

Add
the other ingredients (the remaining milk, eggs,olive oil ) and knead
well, either by hand or with your kitchen machine until the dough comes
together nicely. I used less milk in the beginning (200 or 220 ml,
while the original recipe suggests 250 ml) and my dough still turned
out pretty sticky, I therefor added a tad more flour and let it knead
at medium speed for 3 minutes (just for the record: my dough still felt
sticky). Let the covered bowl rest again in a warm place for at least
30 minutes or until the dough has doubled.

Punch
it down softly, then flip the dough onto a well-floured surface and
sprinkle with flour. Cut into about 10 equally sized portions and form
into neat little balls, before letting them rest – sprinkled with
flour, covered with a kitchen towel – once more for at least 30 minutes.

Shaping
the Ensaimadas: Flatten one doughball, then roll out with a rolling pin
(use flour as needed) until you get a pretty thin dough circle and
brush it generously with the softened pork lard. Roll up cautiously,
then let rest for a couple of minutes and continue with the other dough
balls. (Meanwhile line the baking sheets with either parchment paper or
silicone mats.)
Coil up each dough piece until it resembles the
house of a snail (tuck the outer end under), ideally very loosely,
because any spaces will fill up as the dough rises further. Place about
five Ensaimadas on one baking sheet, making sure to leave enough space
between them. Lightly brush with lard and cover up again.

The
final rise is supposed to last overnight, yet I baked mine in three
different batches (with rising times of 1 hour, 4 hours, 13 hours) and
we preferred their look and taste with shorther rising times (1 and 4
hours). But do as you like.   I let mine raise 3 hours

Preheat
the oven to 200°C (~390° Fahrenheit) and bake for 14 to 16 minutes or
until golden brown. Take out and let them cool down on a wire rack for
a couple of minutes, then generously dust with powdered sugar and enjoy
while still warm. Greasy fingers included.