Saveur d'Enfance

July 04, 2010

After the school, we would stop at the bakery on the way home. We would buy fresh macatias and would devour them right away.

This bun is a speciality from my home island and can be found along croissant and pain au chocolat in every bakery.

It’s described as a loaf half way between a bread and a brioche -not so rich though. Macatia has a distinctive sour and slightly sweet taste with a thin crust and a soft crumb.

You may think it’s just a bread, but it really is special to me as it was part of my childhood and I’m happy to share it with you.

Baked early in the morning, the macatias were still warm later on for the breakfast with butter melting on the crumb… Paprika brought a couple of them for the day and I indulged in another one in the afternoon with a warm cup of tea.

I’ve made plain ones, but they are commonly made with chocolate chips too.

I’m always looking for new way to use the levain, so I was delighted when Thierry shared the recipe on Votre Pain, the site dedicated to bread and created by Florence. The process may seem a little bit long (2 days) but the result is perfectly authentic - I’ve only reduced the amount of sugar.

Update: Recipe has been translated in English, see the comments section.

Comments

Haven’t heard of this bread before. Looks absolutely delicious! Y

Oh they do sound delicious, and it’s particularly wonderful when something tastes as good as you remember it. I’d love one with a warm cup of tea too, perfect for this weather :) shaz

these buns are ideal for delicious breakfast…yummy :) Paula

Que de souvenirs!!! Ils sont très, très beaux tes macatias, ça donne envie! bisous plume_d_argent

Wow beautiful pictures, everything looks so delicious. I’m glad I found your blog. Awesome.:-D Anna

Paula, thank you for stopping by ! Plume d’Argent, oui un peu de nostalgie et le plaisir de retrouver ce goût si particulier… Profites bien de tes vacances par chez nous ! Y, thank you ! Most French won’t know about macatia either ;) Shaz, I’m sure you would like it ! Anna, thank you ! Vanille

What lovely little breads! Memories linked to food are wonderful… Cheers, Rosa Rosa

oh wow do those look like the most lovely little rolls. You’ve made me so hungry over here! The Wind Attack

I love this but for those of us whose French is no longer very nimble, can you give us the Macatia recipe in English? Thanks so much - I am ready to bake. Janet

Janet, here is my translation of the recipe (but Votre Pain offers translation too) Hope everything will be clear… Happy baking ! Macatias First step: Preparation of fermented dough 160gr sourdough starter 270gr flour 130g water Knead the dough to the consistancy of a bread dough (for me 10 minutes by hand) Place it in a bowl coated with oil and cover it with cling wrap and let it rest for 3 hours at room temperature Make three fold to the dough and shape it as a ball (I skipped this step) and place it in the fridge in the same bowl, wrappped for 12 to 24 hours. Second step: Prepare the dough 200gr flour 120gr water 125gr sugar ( 85gr for me was alright) 2 tsp salt Knead the fermented dough with all the above ingredients. The dough may ‘collapse’ due to the addition of sugar. Add enough flour to get back the consistency of a bread dough, smooth and slightly tacky. Leave to rest at room temperature for 5 hours. The dough won’t rise that much. Then, make two folds/turns and shape it as a ball and place it back in the fridge in a wrapped container for 1 hour to 24 hours. This will relax the dough and make it easier to handle it. Third step: Shape and bake Remove half of the dough, flatten it with your palm and cut it in 6 equal pieces. (I divided my whole dough in 6 pieces though). Each piece should have roughly the size of your palm. Shape each piece: Bring the four corners of the piece in the centre and pinch, trying to shape it like a fig. Take each piece in your palm, dusted with flour and rotate the piece while you keep on bringing to the centre edges (please see illustration provided on the original recipe). Place each piece face down (pinch side down and smooth side up) on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Be sure the size of the baking paper is not bigger than the size of your baking/pizza stone. Let rest them rest for one hour to one hour and a half (covered with a clean tea towel) You can bake the remaining dough (if you have some left) in the 24 hours. Preheat oven to 240°c with the baking/pizza stone and the dripping pan inside. And prepare 250ml hot water in a jug with a pouring spout. Using a sharp knife or a baker’s blade, slash the top of each piece in a cross shape and then spray a little bit of water. Place the macatias on the baking stone and then cautiously pour the hot water in the dripping pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until nice and golden. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack. Vanille

Your blog is so inspiring! Beautiful photos… ApplesandOnions

Wow, these are beautiful! I’d never heard of macatias before but I would love to try them now. Thanks for posting the recipe in English, too- my French is a little rusty :) (ps. was lovely to meet you today!) Millie@Gusty Gourmet

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Mel

well we both must be going through some nostalgic phase. you with macatias and I with pate creole! I’ll have to pass the recipe to the resident baker… maybe macatias will materialize on the breakfast table. Stranger things have happened! Sylvie in Rappahannock

These are fantastic!!!! I love this kinds of baking, I may have had a different childhood with different baking goods, but the feeling is the same :-) Alessandra

[…] posted? I love bread and I have shared different sourdough bread recipes on the blog. The macatia is special to me because it’s from my childhood. And Flo Makanai’s 1,2,3 formula is my […] Food blogs I love: @ Downunder | nadel&gabel