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Pan Sobao (Puerto Rican Soft Bread)

Soft, slightly sweet Puerto Rican bread with a thin golden crust, perfect with butter and coffee.

By Wanda Oyola 3 h 10 min Medium

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Recipe in testing: I'm cooking it in my TM7™ and will update the steps and the photo with my own.

Two soft golden loaves of bread on a cooling rack, one sliced, with a small dish of butter.

Pan sobao is the soft, slightly sweet loaf of Puerto Rican bakeries: the bread for buttered toast with café con leche, for sandwiches and for mopping up a good stew. Its name comes from sobar, to knead, and the dough is enriched with a little lard or shortening, which gives it a tender crumb and a thin, golden crust.

The Thermomix® TM7™ warms the water to 37°C (98°F) for the yeast and kneads the dough in a few minutes. You shape two long loaves, let them rise and bake them in the oven. Plan for about three hours, most of it rising time.

Made in the Thermomix® TM7™

Pan Sobao (Puerto Rican Soft Bread)

Makes: 2 loaves

  • Prep20 min
  • Cook30 min
  • Total3 h 10 min
  • Serves12

Ingredients

Dough

To finish

Instructions

  1. Place the water, sugar and yeast in the mixing bowl and warm 2 min/37°C (98°F)/speed 2.
  2. Add the flour, salt and lard and knead 4 min/dough mode. The dough should be soft, smooth and slightly tacky.
  3. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in an oiled bowl, cover and let it rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
  4. Divide the dough in half (about 430 g each). Press each piece into a 25 x 18 cm (10 x 7 in) rectangle, roll it up tightly from a long side, pinch the seam closed and tuck in the ends. Place both loaves seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, at least 10 cm (4 in) apart.
  5. Cover and let rise 45 to 60 minutes, until puffy. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
  6. Brush the loaves with water and make 4 or 5 shallow diagonal cuts on top with a sharp knife. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until golden. The center of a loaf should read 90°C (195°F) on an instant-read thermometer.
  7. Brush the hot loaves with melted butter for a softer crust, if you like, and let them cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Tips

  • No warm spot? Leave the dough in the mixing bowl and proof it with the Fermentation mode at 37°C (98°F) for 45 to 60 minutes, until doubled.
  • Pan sobao is best the day it is baked. Keep leftovers in a closed bag at room temperature for 2 days, or freeze slices for up to 2 months and toast them straight from the freezer.
  • Day-old pan sobao is the classic bread for budín de pan, the Puerto Rican bread pudding.

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