Folar da Páscoa is the sweet bread that means Easter in Portugal: soft, fragrant with cinnamon and orange, and traditionally baked with whole eggs nestled on top. My grandmother made it every year, and I can still smell the bread filling her house while my cousins and I argued over who got to crack the eggs.
The tradition goes back to the Middle Ages, when godchildren offered bread and eggs to their godparents on Easter Sunday as a sign of gratitude — the egg a symbol of life and rebirth, the ring-shaped loaf echoing a crown. Over the centuries the bread grew sweeter and richer, and every region developed its own version: some with dried fruit or nuts, and in the north, famous savory folares stuffed with meats.
My grandmother was from Trás-os-Montes, and this is her recipe, learned from her mother — she baked hers in a wood-fired oven with eggs from her own chickens and always made extra loaves for her many godchildren and neighbors. I have adapted it gently for a modern home kitchen, and I hope it brings a little of her generosity to your Easter table.
Folar da Páscoa Recipe
Ingredients
- 0.9 oz (25 g) fresh yeast, or 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- A little warm milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 4 cups (17.6 oz) all-purpose flour
- A pinch of salt
- 7 tablespoons (3.5 oz) melted butter
- 3 eggs, beaten
- Zest and juice of ½ orange
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Boiled eggs, for decorating (optional)
- 1 egg yolk mixed with a splash of milk, for brushing
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast in a little warm milk with the tablespoon of sugar and let it activate for 20 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt and make a well in the middle.
- Stir the melted butter, beaten eggs, orange zest and juice and cinnamon into the yeast mixture.
- Pour it into the well and knead until you have a smooth dough that no longer sticks to your hands, adding a little more flour or milk as needed.
- Shape the dough into a ball, place it in an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough in two, roll each into a long rope, braid them together and join the ends into a crown.
- Place the crown on the baking sheet, nestle in the boiled eggs if using, and brush the dough with the yolk-milk mixture.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden. Cool on a rack before serving.
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