Pa de Sant Jordi is a typical type of bread eaten on the day of Sant Jordi, a very important date in Catalan tradition. It is enriched, in alternating bands, with cheese (which is usually Maó cheese) and with sobrasada.
The Origin
Sant Jordi is one of the most eagerly awaited days on the Catalan calendar. This year the great literary event will be celebrated like this.
Why not try your hand at baking one of our favourite Sant Jordi recipes? What better way to enjoy your favourite books than with the smell of freshly baked bread floating through your home?
We’d like to share with you the recipe for Pa de Sant Jordi (Sant Jordi bread), which was first made 25 years ago by a famous baker in Barcelona, Eduard Crespo. Normally sold in bakeries across the region, with this traditional yet simple recipe that even the youngest members of the family can help with, you can recreate the colours of the senyera (the Catalan flag) at home. Enjoy!
Pa de Sant Jordi ingredients
– 500 g of strong flour
– 80 g of grated emmental or Parmesan cheese
– 80 g of Mallorcan sobrasada sausage
– 40 g of walnuts or mixed nuts
– 8 g of yeast
– 350 ml of lukewarm water
– – 2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter
– 1 teaspoon of salt
– 1 teaspoon of sugar
Pa de Sant Jordi method
Please note: Remember to wash your hands thoroughly and any work surfaces before starting to bake.
Finely chop the nuts and put them to one side. Take the Mallorcan sobrasada out of the fridge.
Next measure out 350 ml of lukewarm water. Add the yeast and stir making sure there are no lumps.
Measure out the flour and add it to a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the water and yeast, the salt and the olive oil.
Mix together and knead slowly until the dough no longer sticks to your hands or to the side of the bowl. If necessary add more flour. Cover the dough with a cloth and put it aside for 30 minutes.
Next, divide the dough into three equal parts – one for each of the flavours.
Add the room temperature Mallorcan sobrasada sausage to one, the cheese to another and the chopped nuts to the final part. Mix each section of the dough together with its ingredient and knead well for ten minutes. Cover with a cloth and leave them to rest for one hour.
Now it’s time to shape the bread. Shape four strips of sobrasada mix and five of strips of cheese mix. With the nuts mix make one longer and thicker strip, which will act as the frame of the flag. Stick the strips together in the form of the Catalan flag using wet fingers if necessary.
In a pre-heated oven at 190 degrees, cook the bread for around 45 minutes. It’s really important not to open the oven during this time to ensure the bread rises properly
Once the bread is golden brown, take it out of the oven and let cool on a rack.
The Final Result
Serve with your favourite book!
We hope you enjoy your Pa de Sant Jordi from home this year! It’s a fun experience and it’s deilcious!
Other articles about Catalan gastronomy and traditions that you need to check before you visit Catalonia:
