Portuguese Sweet Bread

I'd like to start a new or return to an old tradition in our family.  I suppose it could be the hormones causing me to have a craving, but nothing says Easter or Christmas better than Portuguese Sweet Bread!  Growing up, someone in my family would supply these yummy loaves of bread (we HAD to have more than one loaf!!).  Sometimes it was my dad's responsibility to sell some for the Lion's Club and so we would buy some that way.  Other times, they'd come from my aunt who lives closer to Providence and swears by this one place that you should always get it.  (Forgive me for not remembering the name!)  Sometimes it would come from my brother's wife (girlfriend at the time).  And I think there have been a few occasions in which one of my aunts has made it herself.  It is certainly sold at every bakesale you can find around these holidays, and they are usually the first to go.  We do venture home, but lately it hasn't been around these two holidays.  That's not to say you can't get it at other times, but it's just tradition!  We've lived away from home for so long that I've wanted to start making it myself.  I had acquired my aunt's recipe, but was a bit confused by her directions.  (Likely an old family recipe that she tried writing down from memory one day.)  Recently, I was looking to find a recipe similar to hers on the internet and found not only a similar recipe, but a video that shows how to do it!  YAY!!  I wanted to keep it here for future use...  Note:  I might just play it over and over just for the sound of the RI/MA accent we miss every once in a while.... HMMM we traded a RI accent for a TX one... that's a whole other story!   With the help of these lovely ladies, I might just be able to pull it off!   I'll let you know!  First, it looks like I'll need a large stockpot!

 

Update- 4/13/10

I wanted to let you all know that I did it!  I finally made this wonderful sweet bread!  Though it wasn't hard, there were a few tips I learned along the way.  1. There is a definite reason why traditionally this bread is only made for Christmas and Easter.  It is a labor of love... not because it's hard, but because the dough does take a bit of finessing when it's time to put it into pans.  (It is NOT a typical dough, as it is very sticky and very difficult to work with.) 2. Because of tip number 1, there is a reason why it was typically done when kids were asleep or not around.  A mommy with messy hands makes it difficult to be a referee while making this bread.  3. If you watch the video, you'll see that the dough is made in a rather large stockpot.  This is necessary as the dough rises to GREAT heights.  I purchased a 22 quart stockpot, specifically for this endeavor.  Though I saw it as an investment for the very near future filled with teenage boys!

The above video was a definite help, since this was my first experience making the dough.  However, there was some confusion in the directions.  I ended up using a combination of the video, my aunt's recipe, and a recipe found on the food network.  The majority of the 3 recipes were similar, with a few minor differences.  So I was able to fill in the blanks from my aunts recipe and the one confusion on the video.  I ended up with 8 "loaves" (half of which were made in a pie plate-- the loaves are typically round anyway, and I ran out of loaf pans!)  Since the round loaves were bigger, I'm guessing the recipe would have yielded closer to 10-12 loaves if they were all done in a loaf pan.

This is what I did:

 (The above photo shows half of my yield)

Ingredients

3 C heated milk

1 t salt

3 packages of dry yeast 

15 eggs

5 lbs all purpose flour 

1/2 lb butter 

4 C sugar 

3 T lemon juice (next year, I'll try 1 1/2 T vanilla to see if there is a difference)

Directions:

1. Scald milk and cool to lukewarm 

2. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 C warm water.

3. Melt butter. 

4. Mix flour and salt in a very large pot (stockpot). 

5. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, sugar, and flavoring (lemon or vanilla).  Add melted and cooled butter. 

6. Make a well in the flour and add the egg mixture to it.  Then add the yeast and cooled, scalded milk. 

7. Mix well for about 10-15 minutes, or until dough is "airy in consistency" 

8. Cover with towels/blanket/jacket to insulate and let dough rise for about 6 hours (until about double in size

9. Punch down the dough, cover, and let rise again until double (about 4 hours)

10. On a floured surface, divide the dough into loaves.  Knead and get the air bubbles out and continue to knead until it feels light and airy.  Place dough into pans and let rise (it doesn't say anywhere, but I believe they should be uncovered for this rising?) again 3-4 hours. 

11. Brush loaves with one beaten egg mixed with 1 T water.  (This was all I needed for all loaves) 

12. Bake small loaves for 45 minutes at 300 degrees.  The bigger loaves should be baked at 300 degrees for an hour. 

13. Take out of oven and brush with butter to give it a nice glaze.