Bambas de Santa Catalina

How to make sneakers from Santa Catalina.

The same thing you are wrinkling the nose because the shape of these buns does not match what we normally associate with a ” bamba “.

They are not round, plump, nor filled with cream or cream, but these Santa Catalina sneakers are a delicious sweet and typical of some towns in the Levante area and the Balearic Islands. In form they remind a little of the fartóns , although these sneakers are great also with a horchata.

Tradition marks that they are prepared and / or consumed on November 25 , the festivity of Santa Catalina , although it is a shame to limit it to a certain date because they are so good that one feels the need to enjoy them more often.

Santa Catalina is the patron saint of children who study in schools. That is why they do not have class on the afternoon of the holiday and celebrate it by eating sneakers and chocolate by the cup with their classmates.

In some towns the girls paint blushes and freckles on their cheeks and decorate their hair with large brightly colored ribbons. The boys paint mustaches and put XXL-size bow ties around their necks.

We do not have to do one thing or the other, we just need to try a new bun that we can only say is worth it. The dough is very grateful, which makes the whole process very simple.

As for the result, it is a tender and fluffy bun and its cylindrical shape makes it perfect to dip in a cup of coffee, infusion, horchata or, as Levantine tradition marks, hot chocolate .

Preparation of the dough and kneading for the sneakers

1. We dilute the fresh, crumbled yeast in a glass with lukewarm water and stir until it is completely integrated.
2. We sift the flour into a wide and deep container and form a hole in the center, like a volcano.
3. We dump the yeast dissolved in water inside and add the oil and salt. We remove the liquid ingredients.
4. Next we add one of the eggs, the sugar and the lemon juice. Mix with the oil and the rest of the liquids.
5. We remove with a wooden spoon from the center out, incorporating flour little by little.
6. At first a kind of porridge will form that will thicken according to the more flour.
7. When we can not stir with the spoon we pass to the hands and end up kneading lightly until obtaining a homogeneous, sticky and smooth dough.
8. We introduce the dough again in the container, cover with a clean and dry kitchen cloth and let it rest for 30 minutes.
9. The dough will rise slightly, increasing in volume, but does not have to fold.

Shape and baking of the Santa Catalina sneakers

1. After the resting time, we weigh the dough and divide it into six 60-gram portions. If you want larger sneakers, divide the dough into heavier portions.
2. Finely stretch each portion of dough with a rolling pin, giving it a rectangular shape.
3. The dough is so nice that it does not stick to the table and we did not need to sprinkle with flour, although we can always use a little to heal ourselves in health.
4. We roll each rectangle of dough on itself, as you see in the step by step.
5. We will have some elongated cylinders that we will place on a baking tray covered with vegetable paper or a silicone mat.
6. We leave space between them because they will grow with the next rest.
7. We cover the tray with a clean and dry kitchen cloth and let it rise for an hour.
8. Once ready, we beat the other egg and brush the sneakers with care not to squeeze too much so that they do not deform.
9. Cook in the oven, preheated to 180º C for about 12-14 minutes or until golden.
10. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with icing sugar generously.

We wait (if we are capable of it) a few minutes before consuming along with a hot drink on November 25 or any day of the year.

As always, at the end of the entry you have the photos of the step by step. Do not miss any detail of this recipe for the sneakers of Santa Catalina .

Tips for some stubby Santa Catalina sneakers

• It is important to respect the two breaks of the Santa Catalina bamboo dough so that the gluten develops and the result is fluffy and tender buns. This preparation must be done without haste.
• Prepare the ingredients and make sure they are at room temperature so that there are no thermal shocks that spoil the dough.
• When rolling the dough we must be careful and not squeeze. Thus we will leave space for the layers that form with the winding to expand freely when lifting.
• If you want to make more, you only have to double the weight of the indicated ingredients.
• For a more pronounced lemon flavor, we can add the zest of half a lemon to the dough.