Sunday, January 6, 2013

Happy Epiphany (Feliz día de Reyes)


Today is the day that Epiphany is celebrated in many countries, notably in Spain and Mexico. It is a day full of magic, eagerly awaited by children and arguably more important than Christmas, at least for the little ones, as it is the day when kids mysteriously receive presents, brought by the 3 Wise Magi from the East. If you are reading in The Netherlands, this tradition is somewhat comparable to the Dutch's Sinterklaas celebration. I explained its origins and meaning last year, here. This holiday  officially marks the end of the Christmas festivities (though some would say it continues all the way to the 2 of February, La Candelaria, when 'he-who-finds' the baby Jesus figurine inside the bread will have to pay for the Tamales on said day). Anyhow, a very good childhood friend who happens to be studying to become a professional baker and bread-maker stayed with us during the holidays and you guessed it, we made "Rosca de Reyes". I will be posting the recipe on January 28, for "#January Joy 28, Bake some bread" but in the meantime, here is a recipe by Paola from the blog Gnom-Gnom (go check it out, her photographs are beautiful and all here recipes look scrumptious). I hope you had a happy and sunny Sunday, that the "Reyes" brought you lots of magic and presents and that you enjoyed a nice cup of hot chocolate.

7 comments:

  1. Hola Amanda, qué rico que hicieron rosca de reyes! Ya intentaré hacerla cuando estemos en Australia y no la pueda comprar, por ahora aprovecho las panaderías de aquí.

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    1. Uy sí, aprovecha mientras puedas ! Pero queda super bien y no es difícil, sólo require paciencia, como todos los panes, mientras las levaduras se reproducen (y mientras se forma el pre-fermento o masa madre), y luego nada, el mismo amasado es como terapia y entrenamiento de brazos jeje.

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    1. It is delicious, you should definitely try it !

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  3. We don't celebrate Reyes, but I'm always up for a good recipe! ;)
    Here in Cyprus the epiphany is very important because it is believed that bad spirits roam the world of the living between december 25th until jan 6th. when they go back to their realms, so the epiphany marks the end of the "bad luck" period. They don't eat rosca,but "loukoumiades", balls of dough, deep fried and dipped in syrup, that are sold outside of church and in all bakeries, and also baked at home. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loukoumades
    I had them only once, but I want to get my hands on the recipe for next year!

    Feliz día de Reyes!

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    1. Oh wow, loukoumiades sound a lot like the Dutch's Oliebollen (which are also traditionally eaten around New Years Eve).

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliebol

      Gracias. A mi la tradición de Reyes me gusta particularmente, porque en mi interpretación un poco libre representa que somos todos uno, todos los humanos estamos aquí siendo parte de lo mismo, y que el mensaje (el que sea, pero sobretodo el amor, la paz, la armonía) es para todos.

      Tienes que tratar de hacer la Rosca, seguro que te sale super bien, es un pan delicioso, algo así como una mezcla entre Brioche (por la mantequilla y leche que lleva) y el panettone, y seguro que se puede hacer una versión vegana (yo he visto por ahí algun panettone vegano).

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    2. Ah y por cierto me encanta aquello de los malos espiritus vagabundeando, mucha magia. Que también es similar a la tradición nórdica de Yule y los festivales de luz.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule

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