08/08/2023
Today we serve the traditional Folar de Folhas (also known as folar de Olhão). Folar is a traditional Portuguese bread served at Easter. The recipe varies from region to region and it may be sweet or savory. During Easter festivities, godchildren usually bring a bouquet of violets to their godmother on Palm Sunday and in return, the godparents offer, on Easter Sunday, a folar. Folar is sometimes served with a boiled egg, that symbolically represents rebirth and the Resurrection.
What sets this sweet treat apart from the others is its unusual composition: it has superimposed layers interspersed with a syrup composed of sugar, butter and generous amounts of cinnamon and aniseed. During the baking process, the butter and sugar melt, with some of the sweet liquid being absorbed by the bread and some bubbling up to create a crunchy caramelized coating on the outside. This caramelized layer leaves dry out over the days but does not solidify and, therefore, the dough remains moist and delicious. No wonder it is now considered one of the “7 Sweet Wonders of Portugal”.
This type of bread, which contains ingredients forbidden during Lent, has long been associated with Easter and the feasting that occurs on this holiday. “After the winter months and the long fast during Lent, the Easter brings an intense activity in terms of culinary preparations and the exchange of cakes, namely the folares,” writes Mouette Barboff in her book A Tradição do Pão em Portugal (Bread in Portugal). At Charm of the Algarve our favorite might be the one made by the small bakery João Mendes & Rita. Due to its growing popularity, this specialty can now be found year round. But around Easter, when it’s traditionally eaten, bakeries producing folares begin working non-stop to fill all the orders – the team at João Mendes & Rita are baking around 1,600 every day.
