Portuguese Sweet Bread King Arthur Flour Print Recipe 455

Steps:

• Directions 1) Combine the milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a microwave-safe cup, or in a saucepan. Heat to lukewarm, stirring to soften the butter. Set aside. 2) In a mixing bowl, the bowl of your stand mixer, or the bucket of your bread machine, combine the flour, yeast, and lemon zest; stir to combine. 3) Add the milk mixture, stirring first to make sure the sugar and salt aren't left in the bottom of the cup or pan. 4) Add the eggs, yolk, and vanilla. Mix and knead until the dough is cohesive and smooth; it'll be very sticky at first. If you're using a stand mixer, beat with the flat beater for about 3 minutes at medium-high speed; then scrape the dough into the center of the bowl, switch to the dough hook, and knead for about 5 minutes at medium speed. It will have formed a ball somewhat, but will probably still be sticking to the bottom of the bowl. If you're using a bread machine, simply let it go through its entire cycle, and skip to step 6. 5) Lightly grease the mixing bowl or a large (8-cup) measure, round the dough into a ball, and place it in the bowl or measure. Cover, and let rise until very puffy, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If you're using a bread machine and the dough hasn't doubled in size when the cycle is complete, simply let it rest in the machine for another 30 to 60 minutes. 6) Lightly grease a 9" round cake pan. 7) Gently deflate the dough, and round it into a ball. Place the ball in the prepared pan, and tent the dough gently with lightly greased plastic wrap. Or cover it with the cover of your choice; we use clear shower caps here in the King Arthur test kitchen. 8) Let the dough rise in the pan for about 2 hours, until it's nicely puffy. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F. 9) Mix the reserved egg white with 1 tablespoon cold water, and brush some onto the surface of the loaf; this will give it a satiny, mahogany-brown crust. 10) Bake the bread for 15 minutes, then tent it lightly with aluminum foil. Bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until it's a medium golden brown and its internal temperature registers 190°F on a digital thermometer. 11) Remove the bread from the oven, and gently transfer it to a rack to cool. Cool completely before slicing. Store at room temperature, well-wrapped, for several days' freeze for longer storage. Yield: 1 loaf. Feb. 1, 2013: This is a fine-tuned, simplified, down-sized version of an earlier Portuguese Sweet Bread recipe on this site. It uses the same ingredients and produces the same bread, but the directions are clearer and the result more foolproof. Hands-on time: 15 mins. to 25 mins. Baking time: 35 mins. to 45 mins. Total time: 3 hrs 50 mins. to 5 hrs 10 mins. Yield: one 9" loaf Published: 02/01/2013

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.

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.