Arrufada de Coimbra

Description: Sourdough cake, round, prepared with flour, eggs, sugar, butter, enough milk to knead and a teaspoon of cinnamon. On the surface, it carries a ring made with a roll of dough in the form of a crown, sometimes with the center sprinkled with granulated sugar. Weight varies depending on size.

Region: Center.

Special feature: Sweet and fluffy bread, with a cinnamon flavor and sprinkled with sugar.

History: In some regions it was, and still is, a traditional custom for the bride, accompanied by her mother, to introduce the groom to her relatives. On these visits, the groom and the bride took very well decorated platters or saffates that contained arrufadas and beautiful dishes of rice pudding without eggs. Eight days later the bride and groom would recover this tableware that was accompanied by the wedding gift. Even today, at Coimbra station, it is customary to see women selling arrufadas in baskets lined with white towels.

Use: At breakfast or in intermediate meals.

Know-how: Sift the flour into a bowl and add a teaspoon of baker's yeast crumbled in the warm milk, add the eggs and sugar and knead very well. Add the cinnamon and melted butter, continuing to knead. Then cover the bowl with a blanket and place the set in a place with a mild temperature and let it rise for 24 hours. It goes into the oven on greased parchment paper and in the form of balls whose surface is painted with egg and decorated with a small ring of dough. When baking, the surface is sprinkled with granulated sugar.

Source: Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses, Lisboa, DGDR, 2001