Community Bake - Portuguese Style Hawaiian Sweet Bread
With Christmas right around the corner, this pleasantly sweetened bread can be a welcomed addition to your baking repertoire. Not at all a dessert bread like chocolate Babka, it has a sweetness that pares well with holiday foods. Baking this as buns or rolls is a nice holiday accompaniment to any festive meal that your guest are sure to enjoy. The dough also makes great hot dog and hamburger buns.
Be sure to take photos during and after the bake. Post them for others to see. Share the good, the bad, and the ugly. We can all learn from both the successes and failures of others.
All bakers of any skill level are invited and encouraged to join in. The Community Bakes are not competitive events. There are no losers only winners in terms of learning more concerning this bake. Everyone that actively participants is guaranteed to learn something(s) new.
This is my favorite formula and method . I learned it from a TFL user, "Del". Del has been inactive for many years. He is from Hawaii and frequented a Hawaiian bakery that was famous for this bread. Unfortunately, it looks like Del's original post is gone. Too bad. Del's instruction are lengthy, but not difficult. The whole process takes 3 1/2 hours from start - until eating. And if you follow them you should gloriously succeed! You are also free to use any formula/recipe you wish. HERE IS ONE from King Arthur.
Hawaiian Style Portuguese Sweet Bread
Instructions below were copied from Del's original post.It is obvious, from the lengthy writeup, that Del wanted to make sure that nothing was left out.
NOTE - If you don't have Osmotolerant Yeast you can use Instant Dry Yeast (IDY) Some increase the IDY by 30%.
////// The spreadsheet below corresponds to Del's original Instructions, detailed below. //////
/// Begin Del’s Instructions///
1. Yeast - You will need to get a hold of osmotolerant yeast. I use SAF-Instant in the Gold Package.
2. You will need plastic bags for these loaves after they finish cooling. It is really important to bag your loaves to prevent drying out the bread. (Hydration pre-baked is around 67 %.)
3. The weights given will make three loaves of 20oz. (569 grams) each pre-baked. This comes out to around 1 lb. baked per loaf. The whole process takes 3 1/2 hours from start - until eating.
4. KitchenAid (KA) Mixer speeds are given as actual speeds --- like the first speed is when it comes on, and the second speed is what follows etc. I don't use the KA's speed numbers printed on the mixer because they don't make sense to me. There are eight "real" speeds on my KA mixer. It was difficult to mix in my KitchenAid. I plan to use an Ankarsrum next time. Ankarsrum worked very well. The KA worked but it labored too much for me.
1 egg (optional for egg wash) set out on counter to come to room temperature
113 grams Unsalted Butter (15%)
210 grams White Sugar (28%) – about 4 eggs
If you want to egg wash, then leave an egg out on the counter for later on.
In your mixer bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a paddle attachment at the 3rd KA speed until about doubled in volume. Certain TFL users claim that creaming the butter and sugar is not necessary. That technique is used for cakes in order to make the batter fluffy. I just keep my mixer running constantly while I proceed thru this recipe. Also I am lazy and just take my bulk butter out of the refrig and plunk it in the mixer chopped up and ice cold. The mixer bowl will start to sweat on the outside (condensation) but this won't harm anything. If you decide to warm up your refrigerated cold butter, the butter must be bendable (yes BENDABLE like clay) in order to cream with sugar correctly. If your butter is soft then it simply won't cream right. Using it straight out of the refrig insures things go right as the butter warms up while creaming with sugar.
- NOTE for Ankarsrum users
The Ankarsrum didn’t cream well with the roller and scraper, so I’m using the Ankarsrum whisk now.
The Tangzhong (Roux)
285 grams BOILING water (38%) I boil more water than needed then measure the use that amount or pre-boiled
38 grams Instant Dry Milk (5%)
38 grams Instant Mash Potato Flakes (5%)
- In a small sauce pan, boil the water. Once it is rolling boiling, add in the dry milk and whisk. THEN remove from heat and whisk in the instant mash potato flakes till everything is nicely blended.
218 grams Whole Eggs, Ice Cold straight from Refrigerate (29%)
10 grams Vanilla Extract (1.3%) or 2 Teaspoon
5 grams total Lemon/Orange Extract (0.6%) Optional but then again so is Caviar in Life...
- (The extracts come out to 2 teaspoon of Lemon only, or 1 teaspoon each of Lemon/Orange extract, or 2 teaspoon of Orange only --whatever you got available)
Hand whisk the ice cold eggs into the hot potato/milk mixture. The coldness of the eggs should bring down the temperature of the mixture to a safe level for your yeast additions later on. No need to temper eggs. Whisk in the extracts. Set aside. You can also whisk in the creamed sugar at this time.
300 grams BREAD flour (40%)
16 grams Osmotolerant Yeast like SAF GOLD (~2%) --this is around 2 Tablespoons of yeast (King Arthur says 9 grams = 2 Tbl)
- Stop your mixer that is running creaming the butter and sugar. By this time, it should have doubled in volume and be almost pure white in color. Tare and then add in your flour and then put the SAF GOLD yeast on top. Using the same paddle attachment, mix at a lower 2nd KA speed till well blended. Now, while the mixer is still on, add in the now lukewarm (if it's not, then wait for it to cool down some) mixture from your saucepan (milk/potato/egg/extract mix) all at once into the mixer bowl. It will all be extremely soupy. Slowly increase the speed of the KA mixer to the highest speed that will not splatter the soupy mixture out of the bowl. You will be slowly increasing the speed as you see the gluten developing. Overall mixing time is 5 minutes. When I do it, I can almost get to the 8th KA speed by the time 5 minutes is up.
This is my lazy man's "sponge" method. Again, your gluten development will allow you to increase the speed of the KA mixer higher and higher and this is so important!
450 grams BREAD flour (60%)
7 grams Nutmeg, finely ground (1%) Optional. Comes out to 1 Tablespoon. Or just skip adding nutmeg altogether.)
- Place the flour and optional finely ground nutmeg on top of your lazy man's sponge you just created. Now using the detached paddle attachment that you have in your hand, work this flour into the soupy mixture completely. If you don't do this then you risk splattering flour all over your kitchen when you first turn on the mixer! Place paddle attachment back on mixer and then knead for 5 minutes at the 3th KA speed. Yes, use a paddle attachment, not the kneading hook at this point (faster). NOTE; I now use an Ankarsrum to mix and it does fine with scraper & roller.
7 grams salt non-ionized (1%) --about 1 Tablespoon
- Odd as it sounds, NOW ADD THE SALT on top of the dough. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl and off the paddle with a spatula. Replace paddle with a dough hook and knead for 5 minutes at a slower 2nd KA speed
Place the dough in a large plastic bowl and use your hands to briefly knead into a nice ball (boule) in the bowl. If you've done everything right, the dough WILL NOT STICK to the plastic bowl at all.
Cover and let rest for 1 hour in a warm place till about doubled in size. Then divide into 3 equal sizes of around 19 ounces each (540 grams) or (makes great rolls or buns @ 2 oz. each and hoagies @ 3.5 oz or 100g) and then pre-shape into loose balls. Bench rest for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degree F. (177 degree C.) And setup steam at this time
Final shape into taut balls/boules and place each into an oil sprayed 9 inch pie pan tin. Cover each with an overturned large plastic bowl for about one hour (check at 40 minutes dough may over proof) until dough is just touching the sides of the 9 inch pie pan (dough may be more than doubled in size at this point).
Optional Step:Take your room temperature egg and whisk completely. Egg wash the tops of the balls/boules being extremely careful not to let any egg wash drip into the pie pan itself as this will bake into a hard unappetizing mess. I use my hands to do the egg wash. Again do not drip any egg wash into the pie pan!
Once oven is heated correctly and the dough is just touching all sides of its 9 inch pie pan, place the pans on the upper rack in your oven (baking on lower racks may burn the bottoms). I’ve been baking at 335° convection for 38 minutes culminating with a bread temperature of 190°. I also used the middle rack. Do not dry out by over cooking. You are looking for a graduated colored crust with dark brown at the top and lightening to almost a pale yellow near the bottom of the loaf next to the pie pan. This graduated coloring has good eye appeal and also insures that the bread itself is not over baked. Because of the high sugar content watch the bread for over browning.
Cool in pie pans for at least 45 minutes then remove round loaf from pie pan. Immediately place in a plastic bag and seal lightly. I just turn under my overly long bag beneath my loaf. If you notice excessive condensation inside the bag, simply open up the bag until it evaporates then reseal immediately.
It is important that you don't let the loaves just sit out. You need to bag the breads to insure a pillow softness texture to the breads that Hawaiian Style Portuguese Sweet Bread is known for. After ripping off a piece of bread (really best way to eat it), replace loaf back in bag and seal to retain moisture and freshness.
You will be amazed at how these loaves turn out. Only use SAF GOLD yeast. Bag the cooled bread.
Ingredients
1 egg (optional for egg wash)
113 grams Unsalted Butter (15%)
210 grams White Sugar (28%)
285 grams BOILING water (38%)
38 grams Instant Dry Milk (5%)
38 grams Instant Mash Potato Flakes (5%)
218 grams Whole Eggs, Ice Cold straight from Refrigerate (29%) Approximately 4 – 5 medium eggs
10 grams Vanilla Extract (1.3%) or 1 Teaspoon
5 grams Lemon extract (.66%) or 1/2 Teaspoon
5 grams Orange extract (.66%) or 1/2 Teaspoon
300 grams BREAD flour (40%)
16 grams Osmotolerant Yeast like SAF GOLD (~2%) --this is around 2 Tablespoon of yeast
450 grams BREAD flour (60%)
7 grams Nutmeg, finely ground (1%) Optional, comes out to 1 Tablespoon
8 grams salt non-ionized (1%) --equals 1.41 Teaspoon
/// End Del’s Instructions ///
If you have never baked this, you are in for a special surprise. Del and I guarantee it...
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This one looks so exciting Dan, thanks!
A bit nervous about 7g!!! of nutmeg, I'm used to using only a pinch. Plus need to go shopping for extracts of lemon and orange, as I normally like to bake with the real thing.
Hmmmm.... trying to work out how to get yeast water into the recipe, it doesn't seem obvious with the main source of hydration being the boiling water used to make the roux.
I’m with you concerning nutmeg. Always used it very judiciously, because the flavor has overwhelmed other dishes. Bechamels come to mind. But, Del’s usage of the large amount of nutmeg in this bread is perfect. That and the lemon and orange extract is excellent. Those flavors stand out in the bread. I think they also contribute to the super smell.
Nutmeg is poisonous in large enough quantities:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutmeg
--
Dan, with Alcophile's help, and a little research, it looks to me (and this is not definitive either, as I am not a doctor), that about 2 grams of nutmeg could have an intoxicating effect on an adult. (At 5 grams it apparently gets serious, so I'll assume it gets noticeable at 2.) Someone would have to eat half of your 1000 gram batch to get that much nutmeg, and eating that much in a day seems unlikely.
If it's okay with you, I'll leave this comment stand, with strike-throughs and corrections, so future readers can see that the issue was discussed and can follow the links. If you want this comment deleted, let me know and I'll wipe it out.
--
https://www.drugs.com/npp/nutmeg.html says: Consumption of nutmeg at 1 to 2 mg/kg body weight was reported to induce CNS (central nervous system) effects.Turns out drugs.com is incorrect as to the amounts. See alcophile's comment below.
--
One place the recipe says 7 grams of nutmeg is a teaspoon, and in another it says 7 grams is a tablespoon.
I just weighed some. I shook up the container so it was not compacted. 1 tablespoon weighed 5.5 grams. 1 teaspoon would then be 1.83 grams.
--
Disregard the strike-through portion, Drugs.com conflated nutmeg with myristicin, the main psychoactive component of nutmeg. (Hat tip to alcophile.)
1 to 2 mg per kilogram of body weight (from drugs.com) means:For a 70 kilogram person, or 154 pounds, 70 to 140 mg, or .07 to .14 grams of nutmeg is supposedly enough to get them high.In original recipe: 7 grams / .14 grams = 50 "doses".That bread, divided into 50 portions, could get 50 people to have "effects" on their central nervous system. Though the brief drugs.com page doesn't say what the effects are.--Even in your spreadsheet, 4 grams / .14 grams = 28 doses. So your bread, divided into 28 portions, could give 28 people headaches/whatever.--
Someone please correct my math if I've made any errors.
Your math is correct, but it appears that the info on Drugs.com is not. The 1–2 mg/kg b.w. quoted on Drugs.com is for myristicin, the main psychoactive component of nutmeg. Consumption of about one whole nutmeg seed (≈5 g nutmeg) would be required to ingest that quantity of myristicin. Someone at Drugs.com misread or misinterpreted the original literature article:
https://doi.org/10.1002/19970505NT3 (Toxicological evaluation of myristicin)
Thanks. Will update.
I did find other sources that said "5 grams of _nutmeg_ is toxic." But it did not say if "toxic" meant "just stay home for a day for it to wear off" or "go to the emergency room."
(I did read a report that 10 grams (of nutmeg) would send a teenager to the ER. She was not released from the hosp until 16 hours after ingestion.)
I'm still left wondering what the limit would be in order to avoid any psychoactive effects greater than, say, drinking a cup of coffee.
One place reads:
"15 grams Osmotolerant Yeast like SAF GOLD (2%) --this is around 1 ½ Teaspoon of yeast"
If SAF Gold has the same density as regular dry yeast, 15 grams would be closer to 1.5 tablespoons.
Thanks for the close look, Dave. I never worked with Dell’s spoon measurements. The weights from his instructions were used in my spreadsheet and converted to Baker’s Percentages. I’ll try to correct any errors and once finalized the corrected version will be posted to the “Recipe Post” on TFL. He really dialed in this bread and I want to keep it available for others to use.
I baked the Hawaiian Sweet Bread using my spreadsheet and Del’s instructions. The Kitchenaid was used because that is what Del used. By-the-way, 100% King Arthur All Purpose flour was used. The slice is nice and soft.
A couple of comments -
Unfortunately the images that were taken of the baked breads are gone. No idea what happened to them. Here are some shots that were taken during the bake. Too bad the images of the uncut breads are not available. They baked up nicely. A tad light in color, but plenty golden enough for a nice presentation. NOTE - watch your oven heat. The sugar makes the bread susceptible to over browning if left uncovered.
The bread was sliced and frozen on a wire rack for a couple hours. After it was removed and placed in a 2 1/2 gallon freezer bag. This method works super and it has been used for years without problems. One large pullman makes 36 thin cut slices. The rolls were given to our neighbor. The actual color of the crumb is yellow, similar to dough made with semolina.
The bread was shaped and placed into a large pullman. After an hour and a half it had risen to over 3/4 capacity. This loaf was baked covered.
The dough below took 1.5 hours to bulk ferment at ~73~76F.
Below, the dough was removed from the mixing bowl and prepared for dividing and shaping. It was easily handled.
The frozen slices will be a special treat for the next few weeks. Morning coffee won’t be the same…
Update -
Never noticed this before with this bread. After being sliced, bagged and frozen overnight I had a piece this morning and was surprised to notice that the bread tasted even better than the night before. The smell of this bread is incredible! Wished they made a room scent that smelled the same…
It is going to be a challenge to not over eat this bread.
Is it known what is the rationale behind this very interesting mixing method? Creaming the butter and sugar, adding 40% of the flour to the butter before hydrating. I'm intrigued, since up to this point (except for the yeast) you've more or less made a tart dough.
And...has anyone tried this by hand?
I came upon Del’s method and formula after he was an active TFL member. Don‘t know his logic, but following his instruction has produced many loaves of outstanding bread.
I hope you do try this bread by hand. The high percentage of butter makes this dough very manageable. I actually did a few slap and folds before rounding the dough up. It was a pleasure to perform.
I was originally concerned about the high percentage of yeast, but after comparing a few other formulas it seems to be the norm.
Hope you give it a try. The bread is special.
Danny
Dan is right about the texture and the flavour is special too, and interestingly not an overpowering flavour, it was just right. This was a fun bake.
This bread is quite a show stopper to serve to family for a breakfast brunch as I did this morning. Nothing is left!
all rolls joined with dog in background.jpeg
Think the texture is really gentle and glad that I went for the full complement of nutmeg.
Getting hold of SAF gold where I live wasn't easy, so I opted for 13g of instant dry yeast (using Dan's quantities plus 30%). Perhaps this was a mistake though as it needed 3 hours for bulking as opposed to the 1 that the recipe called for, but nevertheless it eventually developed.
The dough was formed into 60g rolls in a silicon cake pan, and the other half of the silicon cake pan was used as a lid to get a closed container for steaming during baking.
They were baked covered for 20 minutes (at 180°C) and a further 14 minutes uncovered (at 160°C). Couldn't really see the bottom in the silicon pan as it was baking, and it got a little too dark, not too bad, but I would probably say that next time I'll reduce the bake time by about 4 or 5 minutes.
Did have enough dough to make a further 3 rolls of 80g of dough each. These 3 rolls were not egg washed but instead shaped like papo secos, unfortunately they grew too large for their pan and got burnt on top. Next time I will egg wash everything and bake them the same way.
There will definitely be a next time, can see why this is something I would want to come back to again and again. Thanks Dan, such a lovely community bake.
As you said, this bread is special. Even though Del’s instructions are lengthy, the actual bake is is quick and not difficult.
Since this bread uses a large percentage of yeast, it can stale quickly if not handled properly. In your case, no worries. It is all gone :) Consider freezing sliced bread, if you want to build a stash. I wake up in the mornings thinking about my freezer. LOL
This Community Bake leaves me wondering why others have not elected to join in. I am reasonably sure that it is destined to be a favorite for most bakers that give it a try.
I plan to bake this at least once more before Christmas.
Thanks for participating…
Hi Dan, the long list of ingredients is probably the only thing holding me back. I have neither of the citrus extracts and haven’t seen osmotolerlant yeast in the stores. Also, I’m in the midst of Christmas baking. Once I have a bit of extra time to find the ingredients then I will bake this.
Benny, you could omit the citrus extracts and add their weight to the vanilla, but the citrus aroma and flavor is noticeable and a welcomed addition.
The Osmotolerant Yeast can be substituted with Commercial Yeast by adding 30% more.
If I were to choose between omitting the citrus extracts or the Osmotolerant Yeast, I would substitute the yeast. There will be no flavor difference this way.
I would be surprised if this wouldn’t become a favorite of yours. Think Hokkaido Milk Bread that is somewhat sweet and smells and taste of citrus!
I agree with Dan, Jon, your bake looks fabulous, as does his.
Dan, Perhaps the intricacies and length of the instructions and ingredients has "scared" people off, myself included. I don't mind some amount of work (unlike Maynard G. Krebs) but this seems to be a bit more than, at least for this moment in time, I'm willing to take on.
Can't and won't speak for others, but that is my initial take. And of course, none of this would be possible without your guiding CB hand.
PS Try waking up in the morning thinking about the dog, or the trees or sumpin' other than the freezer 🙄
Alan, appreciate your insight.
I considered the lengthy instructions and the extra ingredients (orange and lemon extract and the Osmotolerant Yeast before posting the CB. Those are only only things out of the ordinary.
Wished I could pass around fresh baked samples. The smell, flavor and texture is super special.
Danny, thank you for organizing the CB, and unfortunate that not many bakers have joined in for this one, myself included. I have to add that in addition to the extracts potato flakes and dry milk are not something I ever have in the house, and I wouldn't know what to do with them, so not keen on buying just for one or two bakes... I also don't have a stand mixer (and not even a hand mixer at the moment until I manage to get everything shipped to Basel), and instructions are tailored to some mechanical assistance.
It does sounds like a wonderful bread that those who bake it thoroughly enjoy. So I hope more people join in, and perhaps I'll give it a go when I can in the future.
Yes, Ilya. The mixer is very nice to have when dealing with such an enriched dough.
As a noob I don't know if my opinion counts here, but the extracts and yeast were reasons I decided not to attempt.
I do lots of overly-complicated things, as my wife would probably tell you, but I have a weird fascination for building from basic ingredients to "see what emerges from them." It comes out of a paradigm shift in my philosophy (from positivism to socio-constructivism, if that means anything to anybody) :p and experiences with coffee roasting focused on applying different roasting profiles to a single varietal over several years. I also shifted to Tahitian vanilla beans, whole spices, whole grains and rye sourdough starters for the same reasons.
I do appreciate your efforts and I have read your posts with interest. I have wondered if using citrus zest might be a substitute for the extracts. I enjoyed making citrus jams early this year (tangelos and mandoras, in one of my phases).
I have an impression that many of us are on certain pathways of exploration that interest us for personal reasons. So a CB may have more uptake when it overlaps with those reasons.
I know you are not looking for suggestions, but I would be interested in a CB for a longterm bake like a gingerbread built from rye, or a pandoro. A CB would scaffold me in terms of prep and scheduling to achieve something (vs purchasing special ingredients for something outside my pathway)
Just a hint ---- homemade citrus extracts: vodka and citrus peels/zests... (sorry, being naughty, but thought I'd drop this one into your subconscious).
Excellent suggestion :)
They look beautiful Jon, well done. These buns have quite the ingredient list and have quite a few steps to make. Although, given the commercial yeast, can be made pretty quickly. I remember seeing this types of Hawaiian buns in Hawaii and in the US, they do seem to be quite popular, I’m not sure that I’ve had them before.
Benny
I figure I'm at least a penny less than Alfanso.... :)
I plan to do this bake, however, I may just use a different recipe, at least for starters. The King Arthur one is interesting, and I've found a few others online as well. I have a Brazilian friend who is trying to get his mom's recipe for me as well.....
This would be a nice contribution to the Easter table for my m-i-l, so a test run in this CB would be nice (and, of course, we get to eat it!) :)
Rich
I leave out all the sugar?
Bread on left side was par-baked. It will be sealed and frozen, then re-heated after a few days to see how they turn out. The bread on the right side is fully baked and ready for the table.
Flavor, texture, and aroma is fantastic! This bread is a favorite of mine.
Pictured above, the Tangzhong is the right consistency and ready to be mixed into the dough.
Dough more than doubled in 1.25 hr.
2nd Bake Observations & Comments -
Will report back once the bread is tasted and the par-bake test is complete. How nice would it be to gift neighbors a pan of rolls that can be placed in a pre-heated oven and baked off. Time issues would be permanently solved.
Update -
The frozen slices from the first bake are eaten daily. I have yet to find a filling that doesn’t make a super sandwich. Believe it or not, I’ve buttered a frozen slice and ate it cold. Yep! Great…
Lesson Learned -
I wanted to par-bake this bread and freeze. Whole Foods uses this method for their artisan breads. This way warm fresh bread could be had on demand by pre-heating. But since this bread is so tender, it seems fully baking and freezing whole is better. The buns below collapsed in the middle as they cooled down.
OK Danny, You hooked me. My wife will have a fit when I pull out the mixer, et.al. to make this. I've been eating "King's" forever, and I love it. The only other recipe I had used pineapple juice and it was a literal mess and tasted nothing like the "good stuff." I think this may be well worth the time and effort. I love the addition of the extracts and nutmeg. Will update the group later this week.
Mahalo
Ex-Firefighter Jim
Great, Jim!
If at all possible, use the ingredients as listed and follow the instructions closely. I’d bet Del spent a long long time dialing this one in.
When I first stumbled unto Del’s rendition of this bread, the lengthy instructions seemed laborious. In actuality the process is fairly straightforward and simple. Yesterday the bread was baked, from start to finish, in the morning. Most of my sourdoughs take 2 or more days.
Good Luck!
Danny
I see the rising dough in the measuring cup as just doubled, very domed with lots of gas and potential.
Somewhere I remember par-baked as being longer at a lower temp, maybe decrease the initial temp after spring to bake through with not much browning. A cover perhaps as the buns start to brown. Will look into it. It is important to finish baking. The "to freeze" tray already looked a little sunken in the "before shot" when comparing to the other tray of buns.
Otherwise everything looks pretty yummy.
I am thinking that the crumb is so tender and fragile that it collapsed before it completely set. I have read that sone par-bake at lower temps than normal for the same amount of time.
The rolls that collapsed were frozen. Either today or tomorrow one will be removed from the pan and defrost in the fridge over night, then placed in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes or so.
When the center rolls collapsed I thought about Panettone.
The original author (Del) cautions to no over bake and dry out.
I put it in my blog, you can take a look HERE, if you are so inclined...... I haven't tasted it yet, but it smells heavenly! :)
Rich
I took many liberties with the recipe which I'll try to write up in a few days. But it's the solstice, so first here is the bread. And happy winter solstice!
Looking forward to the crumb shot and also your evaluation of the taste, texture, and aroma. Let us know what changes you made.
Wow that looks so enticing, well done.
Benny
Changes to formula:
- Reduce sugar to 15.%
- Increase salt from 1.0% to 1.5%
- Use non-osmotolerant yeast (SAF instant red) and reduce to 1.0%
- Replace 5.0% instant potato flakes with 4.0% potato starch
- Substitute 50.% milk for 5.0% dry milk, omitting water
- Replace citrus extracts with citrus zest
- Replace vanilla extract with vanilla sugar
I reduced the sugar for taste. Most of the other substitutions are for my convenience. I believe the instant potato flakes, nonfat milk powder, and extracts are also tailored to the convenience of the recipe writer and not integral to the formula. Tapioca starch or cornstarch should also work if potato starch is not available.
Changes to process:
- Incorporate creamed butter/sugar mixture at the end of mixing
This recipe is optimised for the mechanical method. Unfortunately there are no explanatory notes to the original text. Most probably the reason for adding 40% flour directly to the butter is to 'shorten' the dough. But is this really necessary without the machine? In the end I went with conventional logic.
I scaled the recipe to 250 g total flour weight. At 23-24 degrees C room temp, I bulk fermented for 2 hours 20 min (but it could have ended earlier). Divided into 10 pieces, shaped, and final proof went on for 2 hours in a 20 cm round tin. Baked at 170 degrees C convention for 25 minutes, tenting after 10 minutes. From beginning to end it took 5 hours 40 minutes.
Tasting notes:
Aroma exemplary. Taste very good and sweet enough at 15% sugar. I can't imagine wanting it sweeter but perhaps that is more traditional. The most special aspect of this bread is the nutmeg-citrus-vanilla combination. Reminds me of fiori di Sicilia. I strongly recommend not omitting any of the flavourings. If using pre-ground nutmeg which tends to be less potent then increase the amount.
The texture was in every way satisfactory if not mind-blowing. It's difficult for me to comment on the texture per se having a) substantially reduced the sugar, and b) not followed the recipe instructions. If anyone tries the recipe as written but by hand I'd be very interested in the results.
I put process pictures and the rambling details in a blog post. (Sorry there aren't more before-baking photos, but the kitchen lighting was giving me a terrible time.)
In conclusion, this is a well-behaved recipe, a well-behaved dough, and all-in-all a satisfying bake. The bread is all gone now. I'm very fond of regional/specialty/traditional enriched breads, so thank you, Danny, for introducing this one.
How lovely, the crumb looks so soft. Merry Christmas.
Benny
Good to know this bread doesn’t require machine mixing. It truly is an exceptional bread.
I plan to follow your lead and reduce the sugar. Any time calories can be reduced without greatly sacrificing flavor, I’m all in.
Merry Christmas
Danny
Thank you for the lovely comments. Merry Christmas to you both!