Pão Doce Caseiro

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large mixing bowl
• •Bench scraper
• •Baking tray or two 23 x 13 cm loaf pans
• •Pastry brush
• •Clean kitchen towel or reusable bowl cover

Instructions

1. 1

   Wake the yeast

   Put the warm milk in a large bowl and stir in the yeast with 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until the surface looks foamy and smells a little like beer. Warm means bath-warm, not hot. Hot milk kills yeast, and then the dough just sits there looking innocent while doing absolutely nothing.

   If it doesn't foam at all, stop and start again with fresh yeast. Flour and eggs cost money. Don't throw them into dead yeast and call it learning.
2. 2

   Mix the dough

   Add the remaining sugar, the eggs, softened butter, salt, and 3 1/2 cups of the flour. Stir until you have a shaggy, sticky dough with no dry flour hiding at the bottom of the bowl. Add the last 1/2 cup flour a little at a time. The dough should be soft and tacky, because enriched bread needs moisture to bake tender.

3. 3

   Knead until smooth

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, pushing it away with the heel of your hand and folding it back over itself. It will start messy, then become smooth, stretchy, and alive under your hands. Add extra flour only by the tablespoon if it truly sticks like glue. Too much flour makes tough bread, and then you'll blame yourself instead of the measuring cup.

   In a stand mixer, use the dough hook on low speed for 6 to 8 minutes. Stop when the dough pulls from the sides and stretches without tearing right away.
4. 4

   Let it rise

   Oil a clean bowl, put the dough inside, turn it once so the surface is lightly coated, and cover it. Let it rise in a warm corner until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Look at the dough, not the clock. It should look puffy and keep a dent when you press it gently with one finger. This first rise builds softness and flavor, not just size.

5. 5

   Shape the bread

   Press the dough down gently to release the big air bubbles. Divide it into 16 pieces for rolls, or 2 pieces for loaves. For rolls, tuck the edges underneath each piece and roll against the counter until the top is smooth and tight. That tight skin helps the bread rise upward instead of spreading sideways like it gave up.

6. 6

   Rise again

   Set the shaped dough on a lined baking tray or into greased loaf pans, leaving space between rolls. Cover and let rise again until puffy and almost doubled, 45 to 60 minutes. This second rise is what gives pão doce its soft crumb. Skip it and the bread bakes dense, which is not drama, it's arithmetic.

7. 7

   Brush and bake

   Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Brush the tops gently with the egg yolk and milk mixture, using a light hand so you don't deflate the dough. Bake rolls for 22 to 25 minutes, or loaves for 28 to 32 minutes, until deeply golden and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped. Pale bread is underbaked bread, and underbaked enriched dough tastes gummy in the middle.

8. 8

   Finish and cool

   If you want the padaria shine, simmer the sugar and water for 1 minute, then brush a thin layer over the bread as soon as it comes out. Let the bread cool at least 20 minutes before tearing in. I know. Cruel. But the crumb is still setting, and cut too soon it turns doughy instead of soft.

Chef Tips

• •Use butter, eggs, milk, flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. That's the whole promise. Skip packaged bread mixes and powdered flavoring. They sell you confidence in a bag, and a gente is not buying.
• •Room-temperature eggs mix into the dough more easily. Cold eggs slow the yeast down, and enriched dough is already slow because sugar and butter make the yeast work harder.
• •The honest Tuesday shortcut is shaping rolls instead of loaves. They rise a little faster, bake faster, and freeze better. The cost is that you'll eat two before dinner and pretend that wasn't predictable.
• •Freeze baked rolls once fully cool. Wrap well and freeze for up to 2 months. Rewarm straight from frozen in a low oven until soft again.
• •If your kitchen is cold, put the covered bowl inside the turned-off oven with only the oven light on. Warmth helps the yeast move. Heat kills it. There is a difference, and bread is very literal about it.

Advance Preparation

• •For overnight dough, let it rise once in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours after kneading. Shape it cold, then give it extra time for the second rise before baking.
• •Bake the bread up to 1 day ahead and keep it well wrapped at room temperature. For longer storage, freeze it instead of refrigerating, because the fridge dries bread out.
• •The sugar glaze can be made while the bread bakes. Use it warm so it brushes on thinly and leaves a soft shine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 60g)