Soft and Delicious Portuguese Sweet Bread


Ingredients
3 packages of active dry yeast2 cups of milk2 cups of sugar1/2 cup of shortening (you can use crisco, butter, or vegetable oil)1/2 cup of butter, unsalted1/2 cup of lukewarm water1/2 teaspoon of salt10 cups of all-purpose flour8 eggsFor the Egg Wash:1 egg1 teaspoon of water
Preparation
  1. Dissolve the active dry yeast in warm water with half teaspoon of sugar and let rise to double in size.
  2. Mix all the dry ingredients together except the sugar.
  3.  Melt the butter and shortening in milk and cool to lukewarm.
  4. Beat the eggs and sugar together.
  5. Mix all the ingredients together and knead until the dough lifting in the bowl, let it rise for about 6 to 8 hours.
  6. Punch down, deflating the dough, form individual breads and put them in buttered and flour dusted pans (any shape or size will do). 
  7. Preheat the oven at at 160°C or 325°F.
  8. The dough should fill only half of each pan, so let it rise until the dough doubles in size, filling the pan.
  9. For the egg wash, mix the egg with the teaspoon of water and brush the top of each bread.
  10. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes (let it bake longer if the loaves are larger), the bread should be golden brown.

Recipe Credit: easyportugueserecipes.com
Photo Credit: ingoodflavor.com

Preparation time8 h 15 min
Cooking Time 40 min
Ready In8 h 55 min
Level of DifficultyEasy
Servings10