The Asturian alfilada - also called Enfilada de Alves - is a typical cake from Asturias (northern Spain) that was given away or bought during Easter. Nowadays it can be bought almost at any time of the year, although the Easter tradition continues.
There are many different recipes. Some are so much that they do not seem the same thing, and in Asturias there is almost one recipe for each family. The only thing they resemble is in the form of braid that is given to them and that sometimes foreign people confuse with brioche braids when they are not.
INGREDIENTS :
- 350 grams (12 oz) of flour
- 100 grams (3.5 oz) of sugar
- 100 grams (3.5 oz) of unsalted butter
- 50ml (1/4 cup) whole milk
- 2 eggs (+1 yolk to brown the braid)
- 1 tablespoon of Asturian pomace (anise or any other sweet liquor is also used)
- 10 grams (2 tsps) of dry baker's yeast (if you have it fresh it would be 30 grams / 3 teaspoons)
- 1 pinch of salt
First of all we are going to fatten up the yeast. As it consumes sugar (the lactose in milk is also good for them) and they emit carbon dioxide and alcohol, we put the 10 grams (2 teaspoons) in the warm milk and if we want them to get even fatter we also dissolve a teaspoon of sugar. If the yeast you have is dry, with this operation it will first hydrate and then begin to grow and activate. It is highly recommended that you do it this way, leaving it for at least half an hour.
In a bowl, add the eggs and sugar. We beat until they whiten (emulsify). Once this happens, we add the Asturian pomace.
We incorporate the ferment that we had activated with the milk and beat so that it is well integrated.
We add 1 pinch of salt - this only serves to enhance the sweetness of the dough - and the flour, little by little and without stopping beating, previously sifted to remove lumps.
We work the dough with a wooden spoon until it is difficult to do it. It is time to remove it from the bowl and place it on the previously floured kitchen marble, kneading it for half an hour.
Halfway through kneading, add the creamy butter - room temperature, still solid but very malleable - and work to integrate it well.
After half an hour of kneading, we proceed to leave it in a warm place, covered with a cotton cloth or a plastic film, so that it grows to double its volume. It will take about 2 hours.
After the time we remove from the bowl where it has been confined and knead for about 5 minutes. We divide the dough into three equal elongated cylinders to, as you already suppose, make a braid. Some people braid it as a hairstyle and others simply twist a continuous cylinder of dough back on itself.
We place the braid obtained on the oven tray covered with baking paper and covered with a cloth and let it grow again to double its volume. Again it will take about 2 hours and after that time you will see how it takes a very beautiful shape.
If you want it to be golden brown, paint it with the yolk of an egg.
We preheat the oven to 180 degrees (356 F) and bake it for 30 minutes, until it looks well inflated and golden.
Let cool and enjoy.