SC - Rosquillas (Recipe) RESEND

[Robin Carroll-Mann]

Sorry about the rich text.  See if this is better.

I've been doing some more baking.  Below is a period Spanish recipe  
(and my redaction) for rosquillas.  The name means "little rings".   
Modern rosquillas are generally leavened with baking powder, fried, and  
glazed.  (I understand that in the Spanish-language version of "The  
Simpsons", Homer's constant cry is, "Oooh.... rosquillas!").  Period  
rosquillas are sweet egg-leavened rings, which are boiled, then baked.   
One of my friends commented, "I like them, but they're confusing.  They 
 look like bagels and taste like biscotti!" 


Source: Diego Granado, _Libro del Arte de Cozina_, Spanish, 1599 
Translation and redaction: Lady Brighid ni Chiarain (Robin Carroll-Mann) 

PARA HAZER ROSQUILLAS -- To make rosquillas (little rings) 

For forty egg yolks, a pound of ground sugar, and as much white wine  
as will fit in the shell of an egg, and a little anise, and a little cinnamon,  
and a little cow’s butter, and a little orange flower water. Knead  
everything with fine flour, and cast in what should be necessary to  
conform to the quantity of eggs.  Knead with a light hand, so that you  
do not break the dough, which should not be very hard, nor very soft, but 
 well pummelled, and being good, make the rosquillas the size that you  
wish.  Have on the fire a kettle of water, and when it begins to boil, cast  
the rosquillas within, in such a manner that they do not go one on top of 
 another, and cast them in until they ascend.  Upon ascending they are  
cooked.  Put them in some kneading troughs, and being cooled, remove 
 them and send them to the oven to cook, which should be quite  
temperate. 


Rosquillas 

20 egg yolks (medium or large) 
1/2 pound sugar (1-1/4 cups) 
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened 
1 tablespoon white wine 
2 tablespoons orange-flower water 
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/2 teaspoon ground anise 
5 to 5-1/4 cups all purpose flour 

Preheat the oven to 350 F.  Fill a large, wide pot with water, at least 4-5  
inches deep, and bring it to a boil.  Adjust the heat so the water is at a  
constant simmer. 

Beat the egg yolks lightly in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer equipped  
with a dough hook.  Stir in the sugar, butter, wine, orange-flower water,  
and the spices.  Add 3 cups of the flour and mix well.  Gradually add  
flour, kneading continually, until you have a dough of medium firmness.   
It will be sticky, and it will *not* form a ball on the dough-hook or clean  
the sides of the bowl.  It will more closely resemble a sugar-cookie  
dough than a bread dough.  Add just enough flour to make a dough that  
can be handled and shaped.  Knead well, about 8-10 minutes.  The  
dough will be fairly smooth. 

Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a flat surface.  Cover with a damp 
 cloth so it does not dry out.  Roll a piece of dough into a ball about 1- 
1/2 inches in diameter.  Flatten the ball slightly, and with your thumb  
and forefinger, pinch a hole in the center of the disc.  Enlarge the hole  
and shape the dough until you have a doughnut-like ring, about 2-1/2  
inches in diameter and 1/2 to 3/4 inches thick. 

When you have shaped several rosquillas, drop them, one at a time,  
into the simmering water.  (You did get the pot of water ready, didn't  
you?)  They will sink like stones to the bottom of the pot.  Watch out for 
 scalding-hot splashes, and make sure that the rosquillas do not settle  
on top of each other.  They will begin to expand slightly, and to become  
whiter and wrinkled.  In about 4-5 minutes, the rosquillas will suddenly  
float to the surface of the water.  As each one rises, remove it gently  
with a slotted spoon or a skimmer, and place on a rack to cook and dry. 
 Continue shaping and simmering rosquillas until all the dough is used  
up. 

When the rosquillas are cool to the touch, place them on an ungreased  
cookie sheet, and bake 20-25 minutes at 350 F until lightly browned.   
Cool on racks.  Makes about 2-1/2 dozen. 

Notes: 

My redaction is half of the original recipe, as it makes a quantity that is  
convenient for a home kitchen.  A quarter-recipe also works well.  I  
made two test batches using my KitchenAid mixer.  One batch, which I  
hand-kneaded for 10 minutes, did not turn out well.  They took twice as  
long to rise in the water, and then they drifted up languidly.  After  
baking, they were unpleasantly dense.  A long period of hand-kneading  
would probably solve that problem. 

I decided to conduct an egg size experiment.  After separating out the  
yolks from 10 medium eggs, I weighed them.  The yolks varied in size,  
but the total came to 165 grams (5-3/4 oz.) in weight.  I then started  
weighing the yolks of large eggs, on the assumption that I would need  
fewer of them.  These also varied in size, but 10 large yolks came to  
166 grams.  I do not know how the yolks from larger or smaller eggs  
would compare. 

The anise and cinnamon flavors blended subtlely and pleasantly.  Even  
my anise-hating husband pronounced the rosquillas acceptable.  I could 
 not detect the flavor of the orange-flower water, even when I increased  
the quantity to 2 tablespoons.  I suspect it could be omitted if  
unavailable, without much noticeable change. 

The rosquillas are good for dipping in tea or coffee.  They would probably 
 keep for at least several days in an air-tight container. 



Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
harper at idt.net
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