This Week's Recipe--Hawaiian Sweet Bread

Have you ever had this?

Me, too! And it's yummy, isn't it! But not available in Whittier. And besides, as you've probably noticed already, I'd rather make it than buy it!

The Recipe
So I looked around a bit on the good 'ole world wide web and settled on trying this recipe. (For some reason her blog displays weirdly for me in Firefox, but fine in IE so keep that in mind.)

Hawaiian Sweet Bread
(based on this recipe)
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp)
1/4 cup water, warm
1 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup boiled potatoes, mashed (* see note)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup milk, warm
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1/4 cup butter, very soft
4-5 cups ap flour

In a large bowl, preferably the bowl of an electric mixer, conbine yeast, warm water, 1 tablespoon of sugar and the mashed potatoes. Let stand for 5 minutes. Add remaining sugar, lemon juice, milk, salt, eggs and 2 cups of flour, mixing very thoroughly with the paddle attachment of your mixer. Switch to dough hook. Add 1 1/2 cups more flour and butter, cut into chunks. Mix on low speed until smooth, then add remaining flour a few tablespoons at a time until dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and clings to the dough hook. Place on a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 more minutes to ensure smoothness. Place bdough in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, 2-3 hours in a warm place.

Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface.
Divide dough in half. The dough can be shaped into two loaves as desired: two round loaves, two oblong loaves, two clover loaves (made with balls of dough) or shaped into rectangles and place in two, lightly greased loaf pans. Place free form loaves on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover dough with a clean dish towel and let rise for 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350F.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden. Loaves will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. The best way to check for doneness is to insert an instant -read thermometer (like a meat thermometer) into the bottom of the loaf a few inches. The temperature will read 200F when the bread is done.

Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Store in an airtight container or ziploc bag.
Makes 2 loaves.

*Note: Instant potato flakes make a great substitute for mashed potatoes. Use about 1/3 cup potato flakes with 1/2 cup hot water and let it cool slightly before adding to the yeast.

The Results
I've made this twice now. The first time I followed the recipe exactly and had a few troubles. The first issue was that my dough needed a bit more flour, so it didn't have quite enough to support itself as it rose. As a result it sort of flopped over the edges of the pan. It's designed to be a very moist, sticky dough to produce a moist loaf, but my first time around I baked it in my Pyrex loaf pans and it stuck like crazy, even after my liberal application of cooking spray. Since then I've made it into dinner rolls that I baked on parchment--much better! If you're making a loaf, I'd recommend using a non-stick pan and lots of spray!

I took the dinner rolls to a potluck and didn't bring any home, so I assume they were well liked! Scott wished the texture was more like King's, but without the odd ingredients of store bought I doubt I'll achieve that! I loved the slices warmed with butter...mmmm!

Comments

  1. yummie yummie yummie--this bread is GOOD :-)

    ReplyDelete

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