Best 7 Portuguese Sweet Bread P Recipes

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Embark on a delightful culinary journey to explore the delectable world of Portuguese sweet bread, a beloved pastry celebrated for its rich flavors and soft, fluffy texture. Whether you're a seasoned baker or just starting your baking adventure, this comprehensive guide will lead you through the steps to create this tantalizing treat. Discover the secrets behind the perfect dough, the art of shaping and braiding, and the techniques for achieving that golden-brown crust. Along the way, you'll uncover variations of this classic bread, from the popular "pao doce" to the lesser-known "massa folhada," each with its unique charm and story to tell.

Let's cook with our recipes!

PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD



Portuguese Sweet Bread image

Adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Bread Baker's Apprentice (by Peter Reinhart), this recipe makes lovely sweet, light loaves. Prep time includes time for fermentation and proofing of the sponge and the dough. This bread will start browning rather quickly, due to the high sugar content, but don't be alarmed - it will get even darker as the center catches up with the outside, and the final color will be a rich mahogany brown.

Provided by GaylaJ

Categories     Yeast Breads

Time 6h50m

Yield 2 1-pound loaves, 28 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 17

1/2 cup bread flour (unbleached, 2.25 ounces)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (.5 ounce)
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (.25 ounce)
1/2 cup water, at room temperature (4 ounces)
6 tablespoons granulated sugar (3 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt (.25 ounce)
1/4 cup powdered milk (1.25 ounces)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 ounce)
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (1 ounce)
2 large eggs (3.3 ounces)
1 teaspoon lemon extract (.17 ounce)
1 teaspoon orange extract (.17 ounce)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (.17 ounce)
3 cups bread flour (unbleached,13.5 ounces)
6 tablespoons approx water, at room temperature (3 ounces)
1 egg, whisked with
1 teaspoon water, until frothy

Steps:

  • To make the sponge, stir together flour, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl. Add the water and stir until all ingredients are hydrated and make a smooth batter. Cover with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, or until the sponge gets foamy and seems on the verge of collapse.
  • To make the dough, combine the sugar, salt, powdered milk, butter, and shortening in a 4-quart mixing bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer, which is what I use). Cream together with a sturdy spoon (or the paddle attachment) until smooth, then mix in the eggs and the extracts. Knead by hand (or switch to the dough hook) and mix in the sponge and flour (I wait to change out the attachments until most of the ingredients are mixed, as it seems I have a problem getting the dough to grab onto the hook if I switch too early). Add the water, as needed, to make a very soft dough (more than likely you will not need the full amount of water, but it can vary due to factors such as the moisture content and protein percentage of your flour). The finished dough should be very supple and soft, easy to knead, and not wet or sticky. To achieve this will take 10-12 minutes with the mixer and close to 15 minutes by hand, as dough with high amounts of fat and sugar usually takes longer to knead because the gluten requires longer to set up. The finished dough should pass the windowpane test (see note below if you are unsure what this is) and register 77F to 81°F Lightly oil a large bowl, put the dough in the bowl, rolling it around to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap.
  • Ferment at room temperature until dough doubles in size, around 2 hours.
  • Remove dough from bowl, divide in 2 equal pieces, and form each into a boule. Lightly oil two 9-inch pie pans and place a boule, seam side down, in each pan. Mist with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap.
  • Proof at room temerature for 2 to 3 hours, or until the dough fills the pans fully, doubling in size. (If you want to bake only 1 of the loaves, you can retard the second in the refrigerator for 1 day, but it will take 4 to 5 hours to proof after it come out of the refrigerator.).
  • Very gently brush the loaves with the egg wash. Preheat the oven to 350F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
  • Bake the loaves for 50 to 60 minutes, or until they register 190F in the center. After 30 minutes, check the loaves and rotate 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking. The dough will brown rather quickly (please see intro), long before it is done. When done, the loaves will be a rich mahogany brown.
  • Remove the bread from the pie pans and place on a rack to cool. The bread will soften as it cools, resulting in a very soft, squishy loaf. Allow the bread to cool for at least 90 minutes before slicing or serving.
  • *Windowpane Test: Cut off a small piece of dough and gently stretch, pulling and turning it to see if it will hold a paper-thin, translucent membrane. It it falls apart before it make this windowpane, continue to knead for another minute or two and test again.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 100, Fat 2.7, SaturatedFat 1.2, Cholesterol 23.2, Sodium 95.8, Carbohydrate 15.7, Fiber 0.5, Sugar 3.7, Protein 2.7

GRANDMA'S PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD RECIPE



Grandma's Portuguese Sweet Bread Recipe image

From the fragrance of the proofing yeast to the dough rising and then baking into golden brown loaves, this family tradition - above all others - is my favorite. Nothing compares to a slice of sweet bread, still warm from the oven and topped by a pat of real butter.

Provided by Kris Bordessa

Categories     Side Dish

Time 3h20m

Number Of Ingredients 8

4 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup granulated organic cane sugar
1 cup milk, scalded and still hot
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
6 to 7 cups unbleached organic all-purpose flour

Steps:

  • Dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix sugar, hot milk, butter, and salt together in a large bowl, stirring until butter melts. When cooled to lukewarm, beat in eggs and yeast mixture. Gradually beat 5 cups of flour into liquid to make a smooth dough.
  • If you have a stand mixer that will handle this amount of dough, you can use that to shorten the process. Simply complete above steps in your mixer bowl and let your dough hook do the kneading for you.
  • To knead by hand, heavily flour a board with a portion of the remaining flour. Turn dough out onto board and sprinkle with remaining flour. Knead until very smooth, adding flour to eliminate stickiness as necessary. You should see small "blisters" of air on the surface of the dough. This takes about 15-20 minutes. Consider it your workout for the day.
  • Place dough in a large buttered bowl. Cover loosely with a towel and put in a warm place until doubled in size (about two hours).
  • Punch down dough (it will collapse). Using buttered hands, form dough into desired loaves. You can divide dough into two large loaves or try them as smaller rolls. Or you can try the pie pan method you see used by the historical society.
  • Place your formed loaves on a buttered cookie sheet or in a buttered pie pan. Cover loaves and set in a warm place to rise again for about an hour. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Baking time will vary a bit depending upon loaf size.
  • Optional: Use a pastry brush to baste milk over the loaves just as they start to brown. This will give them a beautiful shiny glow.
  • Turn dough onto floured surface. Divide dough in two. Form each half loosely into a two-inch log. Cut log into two-inch lengths.
  • Roll dough into balls. Place onto a buttered cookie sheet or in a buttered pie pan, not quite touching.
  • Cover rolls and set in a warm place to rise again for about an hour.
  • Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Form each half of the dough into a ball, working to put the "loose" ends on the bottom so that the top is nice and smooth. Place each dough on a cookie sheet and set aside to rise.
  • Divide each half of the bread dough into three equal pieces.
  • Roll each into a rope, about 1-2 inches in diameter.
  • Press the ends of the ropes together and braid. When you reach the end, tuck ends under slightly and place bread on a cookie sheet for the second rise.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 80 calories, Carbohydrate 11 grams carbohydrates, Cholesterol 35 milligrams cholesterol, Fat 3 grams fat, Protein 1 grams protein, SaturatedFat 1 grams saturated fat, ServingSize 1 grams, Sodium 132 grams sodium, Sugar 10 grams sugar, UnsaturatedFat 0 grams unsaturated fat

PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD



Portuguese Sweet Bread image

Provided by Food Network

Time 1h16m

Yield 5 to 7 loaves

Number Of Ingredients 11

3 yeast cakes
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups warm, nonfat milk (or scalded whole milk slightly cooled)
5 pounds flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 dozen fresh eggs, room temperature
3 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 pound butter, melted
2 tablespoons salt
1 egg, beaten

Steps:

  • Dissolve 3 yeast cakes in 1/2 cup warm water, (not hot). Add 2 cups warm, nonfat milk (or scalded whole milk slightly cooled) and 3 cups flour, and 1 teaspoon salt. Whisk together and set aside to proof yeast.
  • In a separate bowl, add 1dozen fresh eggs, sugar, and lemon juice. Beat well and then add melted butter.
  • Add yeast mixture, the remaining flour and 2 tablespoons of salt. Mix well and let rest for 10 to 20 minutes.
  • Continue mixing until dough begins to pull away from bowl or knead with greased hands until dough pulls away from your hands. This takes a while and the dough is sticky unlike bread dough. Place in greased bowl and cover to let rise to double, about 1 to 3 hours.
  • Punch down, turn over, and let rise to double a second time.
  • Carefully break away about 2/3 pound of dough at a time, rolling dough into a nice loaf shape and place into greased loaf pans. This should make about 5 to 7 nice loafs. Let rise until double in the pans for a third rising.
  • Make two to three 1/4-inch slits on the top of each loaf and then brush tops with 1 beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon of water.
  • Bake at 325 degrees F for about 10 minutes and then reduce heat to about 300 degrees F for another 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Remove loaves from the oven and lay them on their side on a rack for a couple of minutes before removing from the pan.

PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD I



Portuguese Sweet Bread I image

This recipe is for the bread machine. It is similar to homemade grandmother's sweet bread.

Provided by Jennifer Houde

Categories     Bread     Yeast Bread Recipes

Time 3h5m

Yield 12

Number Of Ingredients 7

1 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons margarine
⅓ cup white sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast

Steps:

  • Add ingredients in order suggested by your manufacturer.
  • Select "sweet bread" setting.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 55.9 calories, Carbohydrate 6.9 g, Cholesterol 17.1 mg, Fat 2.6 g, Fiber 0.2 g, Protein 1.5 g, SaturatedFat 0.7 g, Sodium 180.6 mg, Sugar 6.6 g

PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD



Portuguese Sweet Bread image

Provided by Food Network

Categories     dessert

Yield Makes 2 1-pound loaves

Number Of Ingredients 15

1/2 cup unbleached bread flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 water, at room temperature
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup powdered milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups unbleached bread flour
About 6 tablespoons water, at room temperature

Steps:

  • To make the sponge, stir together the flour, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl. Add the water and stir until all the ingredients are hydrated and make a smooth batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the sponge gets foamy and seems on the verge of collapse.
  • To make the dough, combine the sugar, salt, powdered milk, butter, and shortening in a 4-quart mixing bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer). Cream together with a sturdy spoon (or the paddle attachment) until smooth, then mix in the eggs and the extracts. Knead by hand (or switch to the dough hook attachment) and mix in the sponge and the flour. Add the water, as needed, to make a very soft dough. The finished dough should be very supple and soft, easy to knead, and not wet or sticky. It will take 10 to 12 minutes with the electric mixer and close to 15 minutes by hand to achieve this consistency. (Dough with high amounts of fat and sugar usually take longer to knead because the gluten requires more time to set up.) The finished dough should pass the windowpane test (see NOTE below) and register 77 to 88 degrees F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
  • Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
  • Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into two equal pieces. Form each of the pieces into a boule. Lightly oil two 9-inch pie pans and place 1 boule, seam side down, in each pan. Mist the dough with spray oil and loosely cover the pans with plastic wrap.
  • Proof at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, or until the dough fills the pans fully, doubling in size and overlapping the edges slightly. (If you only want to bake one loaf, you may retard the second in the fridge for 1 day, although it will take 4 to 5 hours to proof after it comes out of the refrigerator.)
  • Very gently brush the loaves with egg wash. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
  • Bake the loaves for 50 to 60 minutes, or until they register 190 F in the center. After 30 minutes, check the loaves and rotate 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking. Because of the high amount of sugar, the dough will brown very quickly, but don't be fooled into thinking it is done. It will get darker as the center gradually catches up with the outside, but it will not burn. The final color will be a rich mahogany brown.
  • Remove the bread from the pie pans and place on a rack to cool. The bread will soften as it cools, resulting in a very soft, squishy loaf. Allow the bread to cool for at least 90 minutes before slicing or serving.

PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD III



Portuguese Sweet Bread III image

This is a very old recipe for Portuguese sweet bread. The dough for this egg bread is prepared the night before, left to rise overnight, and then baked the following morning in round cake pans.

Provided by Pat

Categories     Bread     Yeast Bread Recipes     Egg

Time 15h

Yield 24

Number Of Ingredients 9

2 (0.6 ounce) cakes compressed fresh yeast
¼ cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 ½ cups white sugar
6 eggs
5 pounds all-purpose flour
1 ¼ tablespoons salt
8 ounces butter, melted
4 cups milk
1 egg, beaten

Steps:

  • In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
  • In a medium bowl, beat 6 eggs and the sugar together until light and fluffy. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Stir in the dissolved yeast, the egg and sugar mixture and the cooled, melted butter. Slowly add the milk to the flour mixture until the dough is of working consistency. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until the dough is soft and elastic, about 15 minutes. Place into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a damp cloth. Set aside to rise overnight.
  • The next morning, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease two 10 inch round cake pans. Divide dough in half, shape into round loaves, and place into prepared pans. Brush the tops with beaten egg.
  • Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and bake for another 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 566.8 calories, Carbohydrate 103.6 g, Cholesterol 77.6 mg, Fat 10.8 g, Fiber 2.7 g, Protein 13.1 g, SaturatedFat 5.9 g, Sodium 456.6 mg, Sugar 31.4 g

PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD



Portuguese Sweet Bread image

Make and share this Portuguese Sweet Bread recipe from Food.com.

Provided by Lyn HW

Categories     Breads

Time 3h40m

Yield 3 loaves, 36 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 8

1/2 cup water
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 (1/4 ounce) packages yeast
1/2 cup butter
6 eggs, one for brushing on massa before baking
8 -9 cups flour

Steps:

  • Sprinkle yeast into 1/2 cup warm water and let activate.
  • Combine all ingredients and knead well.
  • Cover with a dry towel and let rise until doubled.
  • Divide into 3 round loaves and placed in greased round cake pans.
  • Let rise, brush tops with beaten egg and bake at 350F degrees 30-40 minutes .

Nutrition Facts : Calories 173.5, Fat 3.9, SaturatedFat 2.1, Cholesterol 38.7, Sodium 167.8, Carbohydrate 30.1, Fiber 0.9, Sugar 8.4, Protein 4.3

Tips:

  • When making the dough, be sure to knead it until it is smooth and elastic. This will help to ensure that the bread is light and fluffy.
  • Let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size. This will help to ensure that the bread is light and airy.
  • When baking the bread, be sure to preheat the oven to the correct temperature. This will help to ensure that the bread bakes evenly.
  • Keep an eye on the bread while it is baking. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover it with foil to prevent it from burning.
  • Once the bread is baked, let it cool completely before slicing and serving. This will help to ensure that the bread is firm and flavorful.

Conclusion:

Portuguese sweet bread is an easy and delicious bread that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. With its light and fluffy texture and sweet flavor, this bread is perfect for any occasion. Whether you are serving it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, this bread is sure to be a hit. So next time you are looking for a delicious and easy bread recipe, be sure to try Portuguese sweet bread. You won't be disappointed!

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