This sweet Portuguese Bread is a luscious soft bread from Portugal that is enriched with butter and eggs. Often called Hawaiian Bread or Massa Sovada. This particular recipe, adapted from A Baker's Odyssey by Greg Patent, makes 2 loaves. Eat one fresh and freeze the other for later.
1egg (extra)(beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash)
Instructions
To make sponge
Mix together flour and dry active yeast then stir in warm water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to stand at room temperature for 60 minutes. It will rise and then fall back on itself. It should have a pleasant yeasty smell.
To make the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the butter, sugar, lemon rind and salt and beat with a flat beater for 3 or 4 minutes.
Scrape the bowl then add the eggs one at a time beating well after each. It will look curdled but that's ok.
Mix in the milk and the sponge.
Add all but 1 cup of the flour and beat on low. Increase the speed to medium and beat for 5 minutes.
Switch to a dough hook. Add the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 more minutes until the dough is soft and supple.
Oil your work surface with a little flavorless oil. Scrape the dough onto the oiled surface. Oil your hands as well. Flatten the dough into an oblong shape then fold in half. Turn the dough 90º then repeat the flattening and folding. Fold 6 times including the first folding. Form into a ball.
Clean out the bowl and rub with a little oil. Place the dough into the bowl and turn over to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 2 hours.
Divide the dough in half and then each half into 9 equal portions. Shape each portion into a ball.
Coat two 8inch/20cm cake pans with non stick cooking spray. Arrange 9 balls of dough in each pan. Spray the tops of the dough lightly with cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled. This second rise will take about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC.
Brush the loaves with egg wash and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the loaves are dark, golden brown and cooked through.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then gently tip the loaves out of the pans. Upturn and cool on wire racks.
Notes
Recipe adapted from A Baker's Odyssey by Greg Patent