Pan de Mallorca (Puerto Rican Sweet Bread)
Pan de mallorca or Puerto Rican sweet bread is a popular breakfast food on the island. Paired with cafe con leche, this sweet, fluffy bread is the perfect early morning pick-me-up.
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer
- 1 sheet pan
- 1 cooling rack
- parchment paper
Ingredients
Mallorca sponge
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 1 packet
Mallorca dough
- 4 1/4 cups bread flour can use all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- mallorca sponge
- 1/2 cup warm milk 110℉
- 1/2 stick salted butter, melted plus 2 tbsp for topping
- 4 egg yolks room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 drops yellow food coloring optional
Egg wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
Topping
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Prepare the sponge
- Place a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add the water and 1 tsp of sugar. Stir to combine. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Once cooled but still a little warm (110℉), add the packet of dry yeast. Make sure the mixture is a little warm but not hot. Otherwise, the yeast will not work.
- Stir to combine, cover and let it sit for about 15 minutes. You should see some bubbles and foam which means your yeast is alive. If it doesn't foam, that means the yeast is not active and you should start a new batch.
Prepare the dough
- To a stand mixer, add flour, sugar and salt. Stir to combine.
- The sponge mixture should have doubled in size and it will look foamy with lots of bubbles on top.
- Add the sponge, milk, melted butter, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and food coloring, if using.
- Mix together until a dough forms, about 8-10 minutes on low speed. Scrape down the bowl as necessary to make sure everything is incorporated into the dough.
- Place the dough onto the counter. Rub a few drops of oil onto your hands. Knead the dough for 1 to 2 minutes until it's shiny and smooth.
Form rolls
- Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a thin rectangular sheet, about 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut the rectangle into about 8 strips, 1 1/2 inches wide.
- Roll the strips to create cylinder-shaped strips, about 24 inches long. Then roll each strip into a spiral bun. Tuck the ends underneath so the rolls can keep their shape while baking.
Proof the dough
- Use an 11" x 14" baking sheet. Line the sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking oil or brush with melted butter. Place the rolls on the baking sheet, about 2 inches apart so that they have enough space to rise. It's important to use parchment paper so that the bottoms of the mallorca don't brown too much.
- Cover the baking tray loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let the rolls rise for 2 hours. They should double in size.
- Pre-heat oven to 350℉.
Bake mallorca
- Brush the rolls very lightly with egg wash and place them in the oven. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until they are just beginning to brown. Be careful not to overbake.
- Brush the mallorcas with melted butter and allow to cool. Once cooled, dust generously with powdered sugar.
- Serve with café con leche or tea. Enjoy! ¡Buen provecho!