Pan Dulce (Sweet Bread Recipe)

In Venezuela, we call this sweet bread -- Pan Dulce. It's typically eaten in the morning or mid afternoon with a cafecito. Or, with a glass of milk.

Ever since I was a little girl, this was one of my favorite treats to get in Caracas when I visited my family in Venezuela. They sell them freshly made in all of the bakeries around the city, called panaderias. 

For years, I had tried to find a recipe that might replicate the delicious soft, sweet and delicate nature of this bread, but I had never found one, until now. I will forever be grateful to the blog Living in Alabama because she gave me a recipe that I was able to use here in the United States, and the results were perfect!

Here I leave you the recipe in English.

Enjoy!! :)

Ingredients

1 cup of cold buttermilk (mix one Tbsp of white vinegar in a cup of milk and let sit for 5 mins)

4 tbsp of butter (room temperature) - I used Kerry Gold

1 egg (room temp)

3 1/4 cups of Bread Flour (If you only have All Purpose, this is fine too!)

1/3 cup of sugar

1 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of baking powder

1 packet of ActiveDry Yeast

Directions

I'll be using a bread machine to make the dough, but if you don't have one can always kneed by hand!

If you have a bread maker machine...

Pour each of the ingredients into the bread maker in the same order that they appear in the list of ingredients. Then choose the "sweet" bread option on the bread machine.

Once the dough has come together and made a ball, turn off the machine and let the dough rest for about an hour. Let the dough double in size.

Now, we remove the dough from the bread maker, and with melted butter or a butter spray, we put some butter on our hands and begin pulling pieces of the dough apart forming balls about double the size of a ping pong ball. Place the balls in a glass pyrex (13x9 or so), leaving some room in between the dough and the edges of the pyrex. About 15 balls should form.

Cover the pyrex with a damp towel and let the dough rest for about another hour, letting the dough grow again. You will know the dough is ready when you can lightly press into the dough and it does not make an intent with your finger.

If this happens, the dough is ready to go into the oven! Place the pyrex in the preheated oven at 375 F, for 12 mins. 

At 12 mins remove the pyrex and check the sides and bottom of the glass to see how the golden color is forming. If you like it darker place it back in the oven for 3 more mins. If not, paint the bread with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar on top. Then pop in the oven for 1 more min.

Then its done!! Remove from the oven and enjoy! :)

Of course you might want to wait a couple mins to cool down, but I think its still best enjoyed warm.

Let me know in the comments or on my Instagram if you have any questions. Or if you tried it out for yourself send me a picture! :) I'd love to see how it came out.

xo