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To make the sponge, stir together the flour, sugar, and yeast in a small bowl.
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Add the water and stir until all the ingredients are hydrated and make a smooth batter.
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3
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.
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4
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).
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5
Cream together with a sturdy spoon (or the paddle attachment) until smooth, then mix in the eggs and the extracts.
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6
Knead by hand (or switch to the dough hook attachment) and mix in the sponge and the flour.
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Add the water, as needed, to make a very soft dough.
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8
The finished dough should be very supple and soft, easy to knead, and not wet or sticky.
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It will take 10 to 12 minutes with the electric mixer and close to 15 minutes by hand to achieve this consistency.
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(Dough with high amounts of fat and sugar usually takes longer to knead because the gluten requires more time to set up.)
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The finished dough should pass the windowpane test (page 58) and register 77 to 81F.
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12
Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil.
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Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
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14
Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
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15
Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 2 equal pieces.
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16
Form each of the pieces into a boule, as shown on page 72.
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Lightly oil two 9-inch pie pans and place 1 boule, seam side down, in each pan.
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Mist the dough with spray oil and loosely cover the pans with plastic wrap.
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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.
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(If you only want to bake 1 loaf, you may retard the second in the refrigerator for 1 day, although it will take 4 to 5 hours to proof after it comes out of the refrigerator.)
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Very gently brush the loaves with the egg wash. Preheat the oven to 350F with the oven rack on the middle shelf.
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Bake the loaves for 50 to 60 minutes, or until they register 190F in the center.
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After 30 minutes, check the loaves and rotate 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking.
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Because of the high amount of sugar, the dough will brown very quickly, but dont be fooled into thinking it is done.
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It will get darker as the center gradually catches up with the outside, but it will not burn.
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The final color will be a rich mahogany brown.
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Remove the bread from the pie pans and place on a rack to cool.
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The bread will soften as it cools, resulting in a very soft, squishy loaf.
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29
Allow the bread to cool for at least 90 minutes before slicing or serving.
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30
Enriched, standard dough; indirect method; commercial yeast
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31
60 to 90 minutes sponge; 15 minutes mixing; 5 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 50 to 60 minutes baking
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In addition to sandwiches and snack bread, one of the great uses for Portuguese sweet bread is French toast.
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It is very addictive.
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It also is ideal for bread pudding.
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35
Portuguese Sweet Bread %
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36
(SPONGE)
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37
Bread flour 14.3%
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38
Sugar 3.2%
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39
Instant yeast 1.6%
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40
Water 25.4%
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(DOUGH)
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42
Sugar: 19%
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Salt: 1.6%
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Powdered milk: 7.9%
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45
Butter: 6.3%
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46
Shortening: 6.3%
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47
Eggs: 21%
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48
Citrus extracts: 2.2%
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49
Vanilla extract: 1.1%
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50
Bread flour: 85.7%
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51
Water (approx.
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52
): 19%
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53
Total: 214.6%
