AROUND THE TABLE:
FOLAR TRANSMONTANO
Every Easter, the same bread. The same hands. The same words spoken over the dough.
For us (or really, for Inês), Easter has always meant folar - that bread filled with sausages and smoked meats, made from wheat flour, eggs, olive oil, and lard (though the latter has fallen out of use in recent years). And while it has taken on some religious symbolism over time, it's believed to have its roots in pagan celebrations of early spring.
So this year, we asked Sra. Ana Maria if she would let us into her kitchen - into her rhythm, her way of doing things. And so, gathered around the bread trough and the wood-fired oven, we watched the hands that need no instructions, unhurried, without a written recipe, with all the knowledge held in the body. The dough was kneaded, the crosses were made, the familiar words were spoken. And then we waited. We added the meat. And we waited once more, until we could eat it still warm.
We also asked her to write down the prayers, just in case our folar needs all the help it can get:
São Mamede te levede
São Vicente te acrescente
Em louvor de Deus e da Virgem Maria
Um Pai Nosso e uma Avé Maria
Cresça o pão no forno
O seu ao seu dono
Que dê saúde para ganhar outro
Em Louvor de Deus e da Virgem Maria
Um Pai Nosso e uma Avé Maria
Here is the recipe:
Ingredients for 1 folar
- 600g flour
- 5 eggs
- 35ml olive oil
- 100g butter
- 15g fresh baker's yeast
- 30ml warm water
- 1 teaspoon of salt (dissolved in a small amount of water)
- meats (chouriço, salted and smoked pork belly)
- extra flour for dusting
How To
1. Cut the meats into small pieces.
2. Place the whole eggs in warm water.
3. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and leave to rest.
4. Gently melt the butter in a saucepan.
5. Crack the eggs into a bowl.
6. Pour the flour onto a table, make a well in the centre and add the dissolved yeast water. Add the eggs and begin to combine. Then add the olive oil and butter, working from the centre outwards. Add the salted water and mix everything together until the dough pulls away cleanly from the table and your hands.
7. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a bowl dusted with flour. Draw three crosses on top of the dough with your hands and recite the first verse of Sra. Ana Maria's prayer. Cover with a cloth and leave to rise somewhere warm.
8. Two hours later, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide it into portions according to the size and number of folares you wish to make.
9. Knead each portion again.
10. Stretch each piece out and arrange the meats in the centre, folding the edges inward. Then roll each half towards the middle to fully close the folar. Press firmly so the meats are well hidden, and seal the ends tightly.
11. Place each one on a baking tray greased with butter and flour, cover again with a cloth, and leave to rise for another hour.
12. Preheat the oven to 180°C, or if using a wood-fired oven, begin heating it up. Once the dough has risen, bake for approximately 1 hour. As you close the oven door, don't forget to recite the second verse.
Your folares will be with you soon!
