Portuguese Sweet Bread
February 25, 2008 by glutenfreesoxfan
I ran across this recipe when I was reading through one of my cookbooks. I used to love Portuguese Sweet Bread. Growing up on Cape Cod, there were a lot of Portuguese, thus lots of bakeries with yummy bread. My favorite sandwich was turkey, provolone, and green apple, toasted on sweet bread.
My attempt at making this wasn’t half bad. The two problems I had are easy enough to fix. One, I ran short on time and didn’t let it rise the second time like the recipe called for. Second, as I was making it, it seemed to call for a lot of lemon, which seemed odd. It may work for some, but not for me - at least not for sandwiches. The end result was a bit like a dense lemon pound cake (although not quite that sweet). I’ll definitely be trying this again.
Masa Sovada (Portuguese Sweet Bread)
adapted from
Delish! A Martha’s Vineyard Cookbook
Philip R. Craig and Shirley Prada Craig
makes 2 loaves
Ingredients:
2 envelopes dry yeast
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup condensed milk
1/2 cup room temperature water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 large eggs
6-7 cups gluten free flour blend (I used a combination of brown rice, white rice and tapioca. Not the healthiest, but it is a “white” bread.)
2 tablespoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
Directions:
1. Combine yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/2 cup warm water in a container that will hold at least 2 cups. Stir until yeast is dissolved, then let stand, to proof, until bubbly and double in volume (about 10 minutes).
2. Mix condensed milk with other 1/2 cup of water. Heat 3/4 cup of milk-water mixture with remaining sugar, salt, and butter in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until butter is melter (alternatively use the microwave). Pour into a large mixing bowl and cool to lukewarm.
3. Add extracts, lemon zest, and mace.
4. Beat eggs in a small bowl, until frothy. Remove and reserve 2 tablespoons of egg for brushing on loaves later.
5. Add remaining egg, yeast mixture, xanthan gum and 3 cups of flour to milk mixture. Beat with electric mixer until batter is smooth. Add enough of the remaining flour (3-4 cups) to make a soft dough.
6. (Here the recipe said to knead the dough. I just continued to mix it in my mixer with the dough hook for another minute or two, and called that good enough.)
7. Press dough into large buttered bowl and turn so that buttered side is up. Cover with plastic wrap and a damp dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours or until double in bulk. (I heat the oven to warm, than turn it off, then put the dough in.)
8. Punch down dough and turn onto lightly floured surface. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
9. Divide dough in half and shape into two loaves. Place in 2 greased 9×5x3 loaf pans. Let rise again in warm place, covered, for about 1 hour, or until double in volume.
10. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. If loaves start to darken to soon, cover loosely with aluminium foil.
11. Remove loaves from pans to cool on wire racks. Brush tops immediately with the reserved beaten egg mixed with about 1 tablespoon of water and a dash of granulated sugar.
I am such a carb addict! YUM!!! We always called it Hawaiian Sweet Bread and I LOVE that stuff! I’ve been meaning to try a recipe ever since you mentioned it! I bet that is some DELICIOUS bread!!! Is is super sweet??
Carrie - It’s fairly sweet, but the lemon cuts through some of it. The original recipe said that if you want a sweeter bread, increase th amount of sugar. You will then probably have to increase the rising time and possibly the amount of yeast. But I also think cutting out the lemon extract or the zest would make the whole thing sweeter. It is really good though. Mine was just too dense from not letting it rise the second time. — Karen
Wow! This looks amazing. I have not tried to make a sweet bread like this before. Yum!
[...] at Gluten Free Sox Fan has her menu up also. I was so mesmerized by her Portuguese Sweet Bread I did not see her menu! Looks good, [...]
That bread looks picture-perfect! Great job!
I, too miss Portugese Sweet Bread (another masshole here!) it was constantly in bakeries where I grew up.
BTW, I love your blog! Gluten-free recipes, the Red Sox and pictures of Australia — a few of my favorite things
Thanks! The bread needs a little “tweaking”, but that didn’t stop me from devouring the first loaf. And the Sox play their first games today! (okay, so they are against the colleges, but hey, it’s baseball!) I like the pics of your dog you have up on your blog. I’ll have to get one of mine up. She’s a goofball. –Karen
The bread looks delish! I am dreaming of making sandwiches already.
Thank you so much for this recipe…I am a New Bedford native that lives in Arkansas and I read your blog all the time. Being half portuguese myself this is one of the things I have missed the most. Now all we need is a recipe for gluten free MALASADAs. That would make Easter complete. Oh an by the way, my husband told me that he knew he wanted to marry me when he saw me jumping up and down on a strangers couch during a new york/boston game. Gluten free cooking and the Sox…life is good.
Sarah - you’re so welcome! The cookbook I got the recipe from was written by a cousin and his wife. I believe that she has Portuguese ancestors. I don’t always get the bread right - last time it was really dense (like a brick) - but it still tasted so good that I had NO trouble eating it. I’m not the best gf baker - bread is definitely not my strongest talent, but I’m working on it. I think the reason this bread works so well is the amount of egg naturally in it helps hold it together.
And the image of you jumping up and down on the stranger’s couch during a Sox/NY game cracks me up! Mostly because I can relate to it!
Karen
looks a little like dutch milk bread. I guess you could always make honey sandwiches or french toast and serve with lime marmalade, or hot and buttered with a generous scoop of lemon curd……..
You probably need to leave some of the lemon in to create the texture - lemon helps tighten up gluten free doughs to give that dry firm texture that is a little like pound cake.
Looks like a keeper though?
x x x
what is mace and do you need it i can not find it
Terri - I forget exactly what mace (a spice) comes from, but it is kind of like nutmeg. At least, that is what “google” told me to use as a substitution. And it didn’t seem to do any harm! Good luck!