Portuguese sweet bread is light, airy and subtly sweet. It is generally made with plenty of eggs, sugar, butter and milk. If you want a tangy sweet bread with lemon flavor, you can add grated peel (zest) of 1 medium lemon. Another variation is to add 1 ½ tsps whiskey to intensify the flavor. You can also make this into different shapes: braided, spiral, round loaf, buns and rolls.
KEY TOOLS/EQUIPMENT:
- Oven – preheat to 350°F
- Stand mixer with dough hook
- Digital kitchen scale
- Small saucepan
- Medium glass bowl
- Large glass bowl – lightly greased
- 2 8 x 4 loaf pans – lightly greased
PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD:
- Servings: 3
- Cooking Time: 30M
- Difficulty: Easy
INGREDIENTS: (All measurements are by weight except TBS and tsp.)
DOUGH:
- 13¾ oz all purpose flour
- 2 tsps instant or rapid rise yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 oz milk
- 2 large eggs + 1 yolk, white reserved
- 2⅓ oz sugar
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- 2 oz unsalted butter, softened
EGGWASH:
- Egg white
- 1 TBS cold water
DIRECTIONS:
STEP 1:
Heat milk to lukewarm in a small saucepan. Stir in butter until melted, add sugar and salt, mix. Set aside to cool. Whisk eggs, yolk and vanilla in a medium glass bowl, stir in the cooled milk mixture.
STEP 2:
Combine flour and yeast in the stand mixer bowl. Add the milk mixture into the flour mixture slowly and mix on low speed until flour is fully incorporated and cohesive for about 2 minutes. Turn the speed to medium low and knead for about 8 to 10 minutes or until dough becomes elastic and slightly sticky.
STEP 3:
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand using stretch and fold method for about 30 seconds to form a round, smooth ball.
STEP 4:
Place the dough in a lightly greased large glass bowl seam side down, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until it becomes puffy and doubled its size. Gently deflate to remove large air bubbles.
STEP 5:
Transfer the dough into a lightly floured surface, divide in 2 equal parts. Form the dough into a loaf and place in a slightly greased loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 2 hours until nicely puffy. Do the same with the other portion.
STEP 6:
Brush egg wash on the surface of the loaves. Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden caramel in color. Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool completely on a rack.