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+ servings
Serve your Mallorcas with hot cocoa or cafe con leche

Mallorcas Puerto Rican Breakfast Sweet Rolls

Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: Latin American, Puerto Rican, Puerto Rican/Hispanic
Keyword: bread, mallorcas
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
rising times: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 668kcal
Author: Marta Rivera
A rich, buttery-sweet bread perfect for beginning the day.
Print Recipe

Equipment

  • stand mixer
  • sheet pan
  • pastry wheel
  • pastry brush

Ingredients

For the Mallorcas Sponge

  • 1 cup (250 milliliters) whole milk
  • 2 1/4 teaspoon (1 packet or 7 grams) active dry yeast
  • pinch granulated sugar
  • 5-5 1/2 cups (650-715 grams) all-purpose flour separated, plus more for rolling out the dough

For the Mallorcas Dough

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick or 113 grams) unsalted butter at room temperature (save the butter wrapper for greasing your pan)
  • 2/3 cup (140 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoons (6 grams) kosher salt
  • 3 large eggs at room temperature
  • Mallorcas sponge

Egg Wash

  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) cold water

Clear Glaze (optional)

  • 1 cup (330 grams) light corn syrup or honey
  • 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) water
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar

Powdered Sugar Topping

  • 1/2 cup (65 grams) powdered sugar or as needed, for dusting
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon optional

Instructions

Mix the Sponge

  • In a 2-quart saucepan warm the milk over low heat until it begins to steam, or 3 minutes. You can also heat the milk in the microwave for 1 minute.
    Remove the milk from the heat and allow it to cool to 110°F (45°C).
  • In a medium-size mixing bowl, use a rubber spatula to combine the milk, yeast, pinch of granulated sugar, and 2 cups (260 grams) of the all-purpose flour until it forms a thick paste. 
    Once the paste forms, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.
  • Put the bowl in a warm, draft-free area of your kitchen. Allow the sponge to rise until doubled in bulk or for 1 hour. 

Make the Mallorcas Dough

  • Ten minutes before the rising time is finished, add the butter, sugar, and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer.
    Beat these ingredients together, using the paddle attachment, on medium-high speed for 4 minutes, or until the mixture looks pale yellow and fluffy. 
  • Decrease the mixing speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, to the mixture in the bowl.
    Stop the mixer after the first egg is mixed in and scrape down the bowl and beater before adding the next egg.
    The mixture might look curdled once the eggs have been added. This is normal.
  • Add the sponge and 1 cup of the remaining flour to the bowl. Blend on low speed just until a thick paste forms or 1 1/2 minutes. 
    Switch from the paddle to the dough hook and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  • Add the remaining flour to the bowl.
    Knead the dough for 5 minutes on second speed. The dough will be soft and sticky when finished. Most of it while climb onto the dough hook, but the rest will remain in the bottom of the bowl.

Chill the Dough

  • Use the butter wrapper to lightly grease a sheet pan. You can also do this with non-stick cooking spray or softened butter.
    Scrape the dough onto the sheet pan and use your rubber spatula to spread the dough into an even layer. It's okay if it doesn't spread to the edge of the pan, just make sure the dough is even.
    Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 1-24 hours.

Form the Dough and Let it Rise

  • Line 1 or 2 half sheet pans with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
    If you want your mallorcas to be perfectly shaped, use 2 pans and only bake 6 at a time on each. If you don't care about the shape, you can bake all 12 on one pan.
  • After the chill time, lightly flour a work surface. Scrape the dough from the pan to the countertop.
    Knead the dough 3 or 4 times to combine and smooth it. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 18" x 12" (45 cm x 30 cm) rectangle that's a 1/4" (.5 cm) thick. 
  • Use a pastry cutter (or pizza cutter) to cut the rectangle into twelve 1 1/4-inch (3 cm) wide strips.
    Starting at one end, roll each individual strip into coil. Spread the top of the roll (or the layers) open slightly once the roll is formed. 
  • Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel and allow the rolls to proof in a warm, draft-free environment for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
    The rolls will be puffy, but may not have doubled completely in bulk.

Mix the Egg Wash and Prepare the Sugar Glaze (both can be done a week ahead and stored in the fridge)

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
    While your rolls are proofing, use a fork to whisk together the egg yolk and water until smooth and free of lumps.
  • In a small saucepan, use a rubber spatula or whisk to stir together the light corn syrup (or honey), water, and granulated sugar.
    Bring this mixture up to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar.
    Once the mixture comes to a boil, allow the mixture cook (boil) for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes before removing it from the stove and allowing it to cool.

Bake and Top the Rolls

  • Once the rolls have finished proofing, remove the towel and brush them with a thin layer of the egg wash. 
    Bake the mallorcas for 20-25 minutes at 350°F (180°C), or until they are a light brown color and sound hollow when thumped.
  • Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes. 
    Brush one or two layers of the sugar glaze onto the rolls. You can brush more if you prefer a very sweet roll. You can also skip glazing the mallorcas altogether.
  • Use a whisk to stir together the powdered sugar and ground cinnamon.
    To finish the mallorcas, sift a generous amount of powdered sugar mixture over each of the mallorcas.
    Serve the mallorcas with warm café con leche or cold milk. Enjoy within 2 days of baking them. The powdered sugar may be absorbed into the bread as they sit.

Notes

Tips and Techniques: 

  • The reason you don't roll the rectangle up like a cinnamon roll and cut it is because you want to keep that snail-shaped bun as sharp as possible. 
  • The dough may be very sticky after mixing. Chilling helps firm up the dough to make rolling it later more manageable. 
  • You can chill the mixed dough anywhere from 1 hour up to 24 hours. If you plan to keep it longer than 24 hours, I recommend freezing the dough. 
  • The glaze is optional, but the powdered sugar is a classic mallorca topping. 
  • Mallorca buns make great sandwich bread. Slice it halfway like you would a burger bun and use it to hold your sandwich fillings. 

Freezing Instructions:

  • You can freeze the dough for mallorcas after you mix it:
    1. Spread the mixed dough onto a sheetpan.
    2. Cover the pan well with plastic wrap, and freeze it for up to 2 months. 
    3. Thaw the dough overnight in the fridge.
      It may also add an additional 30-45 minutes of warming time once it has thawed. That's just because it will be extra-cold coming out of the fridge.

Storage Instructions:

  • Store leftover mallorcas in an airtight container at room temperature. Mallorcas taste best within 2 days of baking, but to make them even better, heat them for 30 seconds in the microwave. This gives them a freshly baked taste. Redust them with sugar as needed.
  • I recommend freezing them after baking them, but before you sugar them:
    1. Transfer the cooled plain or glazed buns to a freezer-safe container.
    2. Freeze them for up to 2 months.
    3. You can thaw them at room temperature before sugaring them.

Nutrition

Calories: 668kcal | Carbohydrates: 127g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 208mg | Potassium: 177mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 368IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 5mg