The run up to Easter is one of the best times to try traditional Spanish dishes, such as sweet hornazo bread from Jaén. This aniseed flavoured treat, topped with crunchy sugar and a whole boiled egg, is decorated with a cross, just like hot cross buns! Most hornazos are made big enough to share, but we’ve made mini hornazo buns, topped with adorable mini quails eggs instead! Our recipe can easily be converted into one large hornazo bread, but it will need 5-10 mins longer in the oven.
In some parts of Spain, ‘hornazos’ are pastries (like empanadas) filled with chorizo, egg and ham. However, in Sevi’s homeland, Jaén, sweet aniseed hornazos can be bought from bakeries and supermarkets during Semana Santa. Some people eat the boiled egg with the sweet bread, enjoying the contrast of sweet and savoury, while others leave it for afters. For a fun colourful touch, you could even dye the boiled egg with egg dyes!
What are your favourite egg dishes from Easter? Let us know in the comments below!
Ingredients
- 10 quails eggs
- 150g warm water
- 1 sachet (7g) quick action yeast
- 1 egg (+ 1 egg for egg wash)
- 60g extra virgen olive oil (this gives the hornazo flavour, so use the best you can afford)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp aniseed
- 60g sugar (+ sugar to sprinkle on top, to taste)
- 425g strong white flour
Instructions
- Place your quails eggs in a small saucepan of cold water. Bring the boil and cook for around 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
- Place the water, yeast, egg, olive oil, salt, aniseed, sugar and flour in a large bowl. Mix well until you have a smooth dough. Add more water if the dough is dry and more flour if it is too sticky.
- Leave your dough to rise in a bowl covered with a clean tea towel in a warm place for around 1 hour.
- Divide your dough into 10 balls of equal size, plus a ball that is roughly half the size of the other balls. Cover a large baking tray with greaseproof paper and place the balls on it, with space around each hornazo to expand. Flatten the tops of the buns and poke a shallow hole in their centres. Place a quails egg in each hole. Take small sections of the remaining dough and roll into thin logs. Place a cross across each bun, making sure the dough is joined to the base of the bun. (Optional) Leave your buns for another hour to rise further.
- Beat the second egg and paint over your hornazos. Sprinkle them with sugar. I use roughly 1 tsp per hornazo, but add as much or as little as you like.
- Cook the hornazos in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for around 15 minutes until they are golden brown. If you have made your hornazos any larger or smaller, this time will change. Enjoy with a coffee or a glass of sweet wine!
Recipe adapted from Cocinado entre Olivos.
