avellanas as a unit of measure?

Question

Hi everyone,

While in Spain I bought a cookbook, and now I'm trying to make some of the recipes in it. Since I live in the States I've been having to convert all the measurements from the Metric system to the US system, and I haven't come across any trouble until this one. It's in a recipe for empanadas, in the dough part. It says I need "1/2 avellana de levadura de panadería". The translation I came up with is a half hazelnut of baker's yeast, but I know that doesn't make any sense. And there isn't another definition of avellana in the dictionary here. So... is avellana some obscure term of measurement used in Spain? Or what are they telling me to do here in this recipe?

Thanks in advance!

also, what does "1 sobre de levadura" mean? - emily8, Aug 13, 2010

Answer 1

Alright, thanks everyone! I think I will go with 1/2 teaspoon then!

Whoops, sorry Emily, I forgot about you - went to have my dinner. Well empanadas don't need a lot of rising power but why not check a comparable recipe for l cup of flour and see how much. Actually I will check on a recipe site. hang on. - margaretbl, Aug 13, 2010

Ok I googled and it looks like empanada dough is like pie crust, mostly doesn't use baking powder at all so 1/2 tsp will probably just add lightness! - margaretbl, Aug 13, 2010

Answer 2

I think I know why now, this levadura is 'soft' so you would take a small 'pinch' the size of a hazelnut... my guess! - margaretbl, Aug 13, 2010

Answer 3

I have never heard of this measurement, but as a math teacher decided to research it. An online conversion website I use frequently did not list, but I was able to calculate a possible answer.

According to www.ask.com, an unshelled hazelnut is about 1 teaspoon in volume (on average). Based on this answer, 1/2 de un avellana would be about 1/2 of a teaspoon. This seems like it would be a reasonable amount for a recipe, so the answer seems a reasonable one.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Hola,

Puede ser que se refieren a la mitad del tamaño de una avellana, como algunas veces en inglés usan "a dime size drop" o "a pearl".

I am not sure, but that would be my guess.

Answer 5

Ok.

250 g de harina 5 dl de agua 5 dl de leche 6 cucharadas de aceite del sofrito 1/2 cucharadita de sal 1/2 cucharadita de pimentón dulce 1/2 avellana de levadura de panadería

Everything else seems pretty self-explanatory I think...

So levadura de panadería would be baking powder? What about just plain levadura?

Answer 6

I'm pretty positive that's a misprint. It is probably 1/2 tablespoon or teaspoon of baking powder. Why don't you copy the exact measurements here and we will go through them.