Portuguese Bread is a sweet bread that is a very traditional bread recipe, and is very soft, light and airy. This bread is so delicious, and is worth all the effort for sure! I noticed while visiting Kauai that Portuguese Bread is very popular in Hawaii. This is largely because the Portuguese immigrants came to work the sugar fields and brought the traditional recipe with them.
This recipe makes four loaves. I was thinking about cutting the recipe in half as my kitchen aid mixer is too small to handle the whole recipe. Therefore, I kneaded half of the recipe by hand and the other half using the kitchen aid mixer and I could tell the texture of the dough that was done in the kitchen aid looked better. However, after baking the bread it has been devoured pretty darn fast!
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3 Tbsp. Sugar
2 Packages Yeast
½ Cup Warm Potato Water
1 Cup Mashed Potatoes
â…› Tsp. Ginger
½ Cup Milk Scalded
1 Tsp. Salt
6 Eggs
1 ¾ Cup Sugar
½ Cup Melted Butter
8 Cups Flour Plus more for kneading
Stir yeast and 3 Tbsp. Sugar into the potato water.
When dissolved, beat in mashed potato and ginger. Set aside until light and doubled in bulk.
The next step is to scald the milk which means that you heat the milk to 170 degrees, I went to about 175. This kills off the enzymes in the milk which is important when making bread. Once the milk is heated, stir salt into scalded milk and then cool to lukewarm.
Beat eggs, gradually beat in sugar and continue to beat while you add the cooled melted butter.
Combine eggs and yeast mixtures, beating to blend well. Mix in the milk, stir in two cups of flour and beat for five minutes.
Work in the rest of the flour, and beat until it gets too stiff. Then turn out on a floured board and knead for ten minutes.
Add just enough flour to keep from sticking then place the dough in an oiled bowl.Â
Cover, let rise to double turn out, cut in four portions, shape each to make a round loaf.
And place on a greased baking sheet or in a loaf pans brush the top with beaten egg to glaze. Let rise until doubled in size.
Bake at 350 for 50 minutes until browned.
I didn’t realize this but my aunt used to make a variation of this bread around Easter and she would put an egg in the center. As a kid I didn’t appreciate it as much, but as I am older I have grown to appreciate her efforts more and more. Making homemade bread takes a loving patients and without my aunt being around I miss her as well as the bread around Easter and I can figure out how to do it on my own but it just isn’t the same.
Portuguese Bread
Ingredients
- 2 Packages Yeast
- 1/2 Cup Potato Water Warm
- 1 Cup Mashed Potatoes
- 1/8 Tsp. Ginger
- 1/2 Cup Milk Scalded
- 1 Tsp. Salt
- 6 Large Eggs
- 1 3/4 Cups Sugar Plus 3 Tbsp.
- 1/2 Cup Butter Melted
- 8 Cups Flour Plus more for Kneading
Instructions
- Stir yeast and 3 Tbsp. Sugar into the potato water.
- When dissolved, beat in mashed potato and ginger. Set aside until light and doubled in bulk.
- Stir salt into scalded milk and then cool to lukewarm.
- Beat eggs, gradually beat in sugar and continue to beat while you add the cooled melted butter.
- Combine eggs and yeast mixtures, beating to blend well. Mix in the milk, stir in two cups of flour and beat for five minutes.
- Work in the rest of the flour, and beat until it gets too stiff. Then turn out on a floured board and knead for ten minutes.
- Add just enough flour to keep from sticking then place the dough in an oiled bowl.
- Cover, let rise to double turn out, cut in four portions, shape each to make a round loaf.
- Place on a greased baking sheet or in a loaf pans brush the top with beaten egg to glaze. Let rise until doubled in size.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes until browned.
