Trives Bica Mantecada

How to prepare a Galician bica mantecada .

The ” bica de Trives ” is, today, one of the symbols of this town in the province of Ourense.

Although it shares its success with other “hits” of local gastronomy such as the products of the slaughter, the chestnut and the good wines of the mencía and godello varieties.

In this town whose full name is “ A Pobra de Trives ” they celebrate the last weekend of July (this year  27 and 28 ) the “ Festa da Bica de Trives ” celebrating a popular meal and the consequent tasting of their bica mantecada.

This bica is a dessert marked by two of its essential ingredients:  bread dough and butter.  These give it a consistent, juicy texture, with an unmistakable flavor, and lengthen its conservation for 10-12 days in good condition.

The recipe that we will use has been passed to us by an acquaintance of  A Pobra de Trives  who worked in a bakery, where they are usually kept under lock and key to preserve their exclusivity in the preparation.

There is so much love that we have for these Ourense lands that it makes us want to eat it at any time of the day: at breakfast, as a main dessert or at the table accompanied by a good liqueur-coffee, at snack time and even at night accompanied by a rich glass of milk.

We can accompany it with a homemade strawberry or raspberry jam. Also a good pairing for this bica is a good brown liquor  that combines perfectly with this type of buttery biscuits.

Preparation of the bread dough

1. The preparation of this dough is similar to the one I use  for the pizza dough – although the quantities must change.
2. It is convenient to prepare this bread dough several hours before, to give it time to grow, and after it rests in a warm and dark place.
3. I have used fresh yeast that I bought at the neighborhood bakery. It is very cheap, at 1 cent a gram. The biggest problem it has is its conservation, since it will only last 2-3 days in the refrigerator in good conditions.
4. When we buy it, it is white, very slightly yellow, and with the passing of time it turns yellow ocher and has a hard texture, by which time it will be useless.
5. In a large metal bowl, put the base flour, make a hole in the center and pour the water.
6. We add the crumbled fresh yeast and a pinch of salt, we mix with the fingers to incorporate the water completely.
7. We knead everything with the help of our hands and transfer it to a wooden board with flour sprinkled on top.
8. We continue kneading with firm movements. Adding a little flour if necessary (the dough is already asking us), until it forms a homogeneous ball. We check that it no longer sticks to our hands.
9. The kneading will take us approximately 15 minutes. We cover the ball obtained with a clean cloth or transparent film and let it rest for at least two hours.
10. During this time it will grow in size (approx. Twice), and we will know when it is at its point when we press with a finger and the footprint slowly turns back.

Trives bica preparation

Regarding cow’s butter. It is obtained from the cream of cow’s milk. It is shaken until it has a butter-like texture.

It can be difficult to get in some places. So in the last case it could be replaced by butter. You can dare to make homemade cow butter.

1. Starting from purchased cow butter. We put it in a bain-marie so that it softens. When it is almost liquid we transfer it to a large bowl and finish dissolving it with the help of a fork.
2. We beat it while adding the sugar little by little. We continue beating and add the eggs one by one, until they are well integrated with the rest.
3. Now we add the bread dough into pieces little by little. We are mixing with a fork or metal rods, helping it to completely dissolve and there are no lumps.
4. Finished and mixed the dough, we now incorporate the flour little by little, which we have previously sieved.
5. Finally we add the zest of a small lemon, so as not to overdo the flavor that can be transmitted to the bica.

Baking and final presentation of the Trives bica

1. To make this dessert I have used a 30 x 21 cm metal pan covered with baking paper.
2. We preheat the mold in the oven at 180º C for 10 minutes in the total heat function. We pour the creamy dough inside.
3. We mix the 50 gr. sugar with cinnamon powder. With the help of a small strainer, we sprinkle the dough evenly.
4. We bake 45-50 minutes depending on the power of the oven. If we see that the upper part is toasted too much at the end, we can cover it with baking paper.
5. As with the other biscuits / cakes, we check with a skewer the elaboration point. It should come out dry and without difficulty.
6. We remove and let cool completely before tasting it.
7. It is advisable to do it from one day to the next, so when we eat it it will have cooled and rested. It will be really delicious.
8. If you prepare it in the afternoon, it will be perfect to taste it for breakfast the next day.

This traditional dessert is perfect for a special occasion such as parties for a luxurious dinner. Do not miss the step by step of this Trivés bica   in the next album.