Portuguese Sweet Bread

This Portuguese Sweet Bread (Massa Sovada) is just like the ones from the bakeries. It is sweet, light, and fluffy. Serve as is or buttered and grilled. It’s amazing!

Hello there! I’m happy to share another Portuguese recipe with you. This time, it’s Portuguese Sweet Bread or Massa Sovada. It is slightly sweet and tender. And it has a beautiful mahogany crust.

This recipe is an adaptation of Leah’s Kitchen recipe from food.com. I made adjustments to the method and the flour quantity. The original recipe was hand kneaded, but I’m a lazy baker, so I adapted it for stand mixer kneading. It makes bread baking so much easier!

Recipe Highlights:

This bread is great for breakfast. All it needs is a pat of butter. My family loves to butter and brown it in a skillet. It becomes deliciously fragrant and caramelized. Trust me, it’s hard not to eat the entire loaf!

Recommended supplies:

Affiliate links. The products I recommend are either what I use, are on my wish list, or come highly rated.)

• Active dry yeast for leavening the bread. This is the brand I use.
• A sturdy stand mixer. The one I have has a 4.5-quart capacity, which is a bit small for this bread recipe. This one is more than large enough, has great ratings, and is reasonably priced.
• Pastry brush for applying egg wash.
• 8-inch cake pans or baking the sweet bread in.
• Kitchen towel for covering dough while it proofs.

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Portuguese Sweet Bread

Author: Thao | In Good Flavor Cooking Method:Mixing, Baking Cuisine:Portuguese Courses:Bread / Pizza, Uncategorized Recipe Keys: B Baking

Difficulty:IntermediatePrep time: 30 minutesCook time: 30 minutesRest time:2 hours 30 minutesTotal time:3 hours 30 minutesServings:16 servings

Description

This Portuguese Sweet Bread (Massa Sovada) is just like the ones from the bakeries. It is sweet, light, and fluffy. Serve as is or buttered and grilled. It’s amazing!

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (between 105º F and 115º F)
• 1 cup lukewarm milk (scalded, then cooled)
• 3/4 cup sugar  
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. salt
• 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg for brushing on dough
• 1 teaspoon sugar for topping

Suggested supplies (affiliate links):

• 8-inch round cake pans
• Pastry brush
• Food thermometer

Instructions

1. Add yeast and water to the mixing bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a paddle attachment. Let stand for about 5 minutes. It should look bubbly and foamy. 
2. Add milk, sugar, butter, and 3 eggs to the bowl. Blend until the ingredients are incorporated. Add salt and 3 cups of the flour and beat until smooth. Slowly add 2 1/2 cups more flour and beat for about 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to incorporate ingredients. If the batter seems wet, slowly add enough of the remaining flour until the dough begins to firm up and clump around to the paddle. Continue beating for a couple of minutes.
3. Change to the hook attachment and continue beating at medium-high. The dough should quickly start to ball up around the hook. Beat for 5 to 6 minutes total with the hook attachment. At the end of this period, the majority of the dough should be wrapped around the hook. It should be smooth and silky yet slightly tacky. It should also be slightly elastic and spring back a bit when stretched. There may be some dough smeared against the sides of the bowl.
4. Using a rubber spatula or lightly greased hands, scrape the dough and form into a ball. Place into a greased bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap and a towel. Place in a warm area…such as under a light…to rise until doubled in size (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours).
5. Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Shape each into a round flat loaf and place each into buttered and floured round 8-inch pans. Cover loosely with lightly floured tea towels. Allow to rise and double in size, about 1 hour. Beat 1 egg and brush the top of each loaf. Sprinkle with sugar.
6. Place in a preheated 350 degrees F oven and bake for about 25 to 35 minutes, until the crust is medium to dark amber (mine is done at the lower end of the time frame). Test for doneness using a long wooden skewer (done when a few crumbs stick to the skewer), or check for an internal temperature of 190 degrees F. Overbaking will dry out the bread. Unmold once removed from the oven. Serve with butter.
7. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Note:

• For a softer crust, rub with butter while still hot out of the oven.

Keywords:Portuguese, Bread, Baking, Masa Sovada, Portuguese Sweet Bread

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