Posted on: Wednesday, November 7, 2007
TASTE
Long kneading makes a lighter sweet bread
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
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Portuguese bread bakers were famous for the strength with which they pummeled the dough to create a smooth, elastic texture. Food editor Wanda Adams tries Alice Peters' recipe in the Sub-Zero/Wolf kitchen.
BRUCE ASATO | The Honolulu Advertiser
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ALICE'S PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD
For this recipe, rising of about 1 hour is sufficient if using warm-rise method. For round loaves, use greased 8- or 9-inch cake pans or make free-form rounds; bake free-form rounds on greased or oil-sprayed cookie sheets or stick-resistant Silpat sheets. For rectangular loaves, lightly press kneaded dough into thick rectangle, roll up and place in greased loaf pan seam side down; tuck in ends. Don't create too warm a rising environment. It leads to poor structure, underdeveloped flavor. Warm place No. 1: Turn on oven for 1 minute (use timer); turn off (don't forget!) and place loaves in oven. Warm place No. 2: Place formed loaves (free-form or in pans) on cookie sheet, cover and place on FRONT burner; preheat oven for baking; warm air escaping via back burner promotes rising. For cold-rise, form loaves; cover lightly with oiled plastic wrap; let rise overnight and bake in morning in preheated oven.
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BREAD-BAKING TIPS
Use high-gluten flour made for bread-baking. Invest in a kitchen scale for measuring and portioning; aids consistent quality and loaf size. Avoid over- or under-rising; over-risen bread is dry, under-risen bread is gummy. Bake high-fat breads, including sweet bread, at 325 degrees; prevents too-dark crust. If yeast mixture doesn't puff up and foam, yeast is dead; start over with fresh yeast.
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For those who enjoy baking, making Portuguese sweet bread from scratch is a soul-satisfying project for a weekend or day off. The scent that wafts through the house as the bread bakes is ample payoff for the time spent.
A key to light texture is long kneading — a quarter of an hour.
There are ways to shorten the process: Knead the dough in a sturdy stand mixer with a dough hook, and employ the "cool-rise" method, allowing the yeast to work right in the pans overnight in the refrigerator and transferring them directly to the preheated oven the next morning.
This last is the technique Barbara Andersen, of Shipman House Bed & Breakfast Inn in Hilo, uses when she bakes her version of Alice Peters' sweet bread for her guests. Andersen met the storied Laupahoehoe baker through a mutual friend, Ann DeConte Buck, who, as a girl, munched goodies in Peters' kitchen and attended the local festivals where Peters' baked goods were always snapped up early.
The following recipe is third-generation — my interpretation, based on Andersen's interpretation of Peters' own handwritten directions, complete with quirky spelling ("talp" for tablespoon") and the vague instructions ("dry up with flour") typical of a knowledgeable cook.
Some things to know:
Peters thinks highly of Imperial margarine and considers it almost interchangeable with butter in this recipe.
Peters doesn't believe in using flavorings in sweet bread. But I think lemon zest absolutely makes this recipe. Some bakers use vanilla or anise extract.
At one time in the Islands, canned "cream" — as evaporated milk was called — was a favored ingredient. Peters was taught to cut the cream half and half with water instead of using milk in bread. I used the whole can, adding water just to reach the desired 2 cups.
Peters brushes the top of the loaves with evaporated milk before baking, probably to create a sheen.
Peters baked her bread in ungreased round cake pans lined with clean banana leaves. The leaves ran up the sides of the pans and the weight of dough round caused them to conform to the pan shape. Her customers believed the leaves added flavor, and the vegetation may also have created a moist oven environment as they yielded moisture during baking. I made free-form loaves on baking sheets. Innkeeper Andersen uses loaf pans for consistent slice sizes.
This three-loaf recipe is called "small" because it is the fewest loaves Peters knows how to make; she has recipes that yield up to 10 times this much! To make 1 loaf: Prepare as below with 1 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon active dry yeast, 1/3 cup warm water, 3 cups bread flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 teaspoon salt, zest of one-half lemon (optional), 1/3 cup Imperial margarine or butter, 2 well-beaten eggs, 1/3 can (4 ounces) evaporated milk (or half milk, half water) and an additional 1 cup flour for "drying" and kneading.
MRS. PETERS' 'SMALL' PORTUGUESE SWEET BREAD
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
9 cups (2 pounds 8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
2 cups (14 1/2 ounces) sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (optional)
1 cup (8 ounces) Imperial margarine (or butter), softened
6 eggs
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk, plus water to make 16 ounces (2 cups)
2 to 4 cups flour, sifted
In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar and yeast; gently stir in warm water. Set aside to "proof"; yeast will foam and expand.
Meanwhile, in a very large bowl, whisk or sift together 9 cups bread flour, 2 cups sugar and salt. Add lemon zest and margarine or butter; stirring with a long-handled spoon until well-combined (don't worry about small lumps).
In a medium bowl, beat eggs. Strain eggs through fine mesh into yeast mixture; stir gently to combine.
Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture and stir to combine. Add warm milk and stir to combine; dough will be wet and sticky. Sift flour over dough as needed, a little at a time, stirring until dough is sufficiently dry to be kneaded. Knead, sparsely sprinkling in flour as required, at first in the bowl and then on floured board or countertop. Work dough a total of 15 minutes, until blisters form on the surface and dough resumes shape when gently pressed with a finger. (Set a timer or you'll cheat; 15 minutes is a looooong time.)
Divide dough into three equal pieces, weighing for evenness. Knead each piece briefly on lightly floured board. Form into 7 1/2- to 8-inch rounds and place on buttered or oil-sprayed cookie sheets (do not crowd). (Or use greased round cake pans or loaf pans.)
Cover with a light, clean, dry kitchen towel and allow to rise 1 hour in a warm, draft-free place (see "On the Rise" for tips, and for how to use cool-rise method).
Heat oven to 325 degrees; bake the bread for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until rounds are golden brown, sound hollow when thumped, and the sides and bottom don't break open when pressed with a finger. Slide hot loaves onto wire racks to cool. Slice with serrated knife.
Makes 3 loaves, approx. 8 slices each.
Per slice: 400 calories, 12 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 65 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 63 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 20 g sugar, 10 g protein
Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
