This Pão de Deus (Portuguese bread) which means bread of God, will not disappoint you. So fluffy and soft in the inside and with a crunchy coconut crust. Each bite is one more step towards heaven.
I get to participate in a monthly cooking challenge. Where we, a group of bloggers, try a new recipe from another country. This month was Portugal. There were so many delicious recipes, so hard to choose only one! But I had my eye on this Pão de Deus recipe for a few months already. That coconut crust stole my heart!
The dough has lemon zest, a little bit of rum and a splash of vanilla. These 3 ingredients are wonderful together. While kneading this dough you can smell the amazing aroma, makes you want to knead it for more then 10 minutes. The dough is very sticky. But after the kneading time, its so much easier to handle. If needed, add a little bit of flour to the dough to make it easier to knead.
The mixture for the coconut crust seemed dry to me. So after brushing the dough with the beaten egg, I added what was left over to the coconut mixture.
To put the coconut crust on top of the bread, I got my hands wet, and flattened about a tablespoonful and used that to cover the bread.
While the bread is baking, some pieces of the coconut crust fell to the tray, cooking them a little more and making them more crispy. Mouthwatering!
If you liked the recipe above, please consider rating the recipe and leaving a comment below! and share your picture on Instagram with the hashtag #chipabythedozen
Recipe from El Gato Goloso.
I'm sharing this recipe at Fiesta Friday hosted by Angie and her co-host this week is Mollie @ The Frugal Hausfrau.
Pão de Deus (Portuguese bread)
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1/2 cup warm milk (120 g)
- 1/3 cup water at room temperature (80 g)
- 1 tablespoon dry yeast (7 g)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 3 -1/2 cups all-purpose flour (450 g)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar (80 g)
- 1/4 cup butter or margarine at room temperature (40 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For coconut crust
- 2 cups grated coconut (150 g)
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon of sugar (110 g)
- 1 egg
Additional:
- 1 beaten egg for brushing
- icing sugar
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, water, and yeast. Mix and let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, rum, vanilla, the rest of the sugar 1/4 cup, and lemon zest to this.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the liquid mixture for 3 minutes plus one cup of flour. Add the rest of the flour and salt. Mix with a wooden, and put the dough on a flat surface and start kneading.
- Add the butter and continue kneading. Knead for 10 minutes. Grease a large bowl and put the dough. Cover with a cloth and let rest for 1 hour (if it is summer) or 1 hour and 45 minutes (in the winter).
- While the dough is resting, in a medium bowl mix all the ingredients for the coconut crust.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal portions, about 90 g each, and form round buns. Put them in a greased tray and brush with the beaten egg. Let stand for 45 minutes. Heat the oven to 180 C / 350 F.
- Add the coconut crust on top of each bread, being careful not to flatten the rolls.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Allow to cool completely before sprinkling with icing sugar.
Notes
- It's a very sticky dough, but after 10 minutes it becomes very soft and less sticky. If you find it difficult to knead, add a little more flour.
- If you know your oven, you have an idea of how long it takes to reach the temperature you need. Thinking about that, turn on your oven ahead of time.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- The time on this card does not include the resting time of the dough which is 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Madeline
I'm not sure if I've ever made bread successfully, so that it looked like the picture. This one did! The instructions were detailed and I had no trouble following it. All of the ingredients I already had in my house. When they were done, the coconut topping was crispy while the inside was light and airy while being perfectly baked. The bread itself was a little sweet but not extremely so. It's the topping that really makes the flavor. You can't stop eating them! I declare this the best homemade bun!
Lizet
That makes me so happy 🙂 This is one of my favorites. The textures are amazing.
Sean Dixon
Great recipe. Thank you. I enjoyed making these. I added a touch of lemon zest to the topping. Perfect to eat while watching the Portuguese F1 Grand Prix
Lizet
I saw your picture, they looked amazing! I'm glad you liked them.
Valerie
Loved these, they were easy to make and so delicious! Thank you!
Lizet
I'm so happy you liked them, Valerie!
Chantel Oliveira
Do you use sweetened coconut or unsweetened
Lizet
I used unsweetened coconut.
Tara
Did you use dry active yeast or instant yeast?
Lizet
I used dry active yeast.
Tamara
Holaa, una pregunta, para la costra, pusiste 2 tazas de coco= 150 gr de coco. Pero una taza suele ser 250 gr, Entonces pues son 2 tazas o 150 gr de coco?
Lizet
Hola. Yo seguí y copié la receta de mi amiga. Las instruciones estaban como puse: 2 tazas de coco rallado (150 gramos). Para hacer la receta usé 2 tazas (muy pocas veces uso en gramos) y no me di cuenta de la diferencia. Mirando en otros sitios, 1 taza de medida americana de coco rallado es igual a 93 gramos. Entonces 2 tazas de coco rallado es igual a 186 gramos.
Espero que te sirva!
Este es el sitio (en inglés) que uso para convertir de tazas americanas a gramos: https://www.traditionaloven.com/foods/exchange/cup-shredded/g-gram/nuts-coconut-meat-dried-desiccated-sweet-shredded.html
Nicole
What kind of rum do you use? Dark or white rum? Any brand in particular?
Lizet
I used dark rum for this recipe. I don't remember the brand I used. I just remember it's a popular brand in Paraguay.
Clara
Made a double batch of these & they are so much better than the ones from the local Portuguese bakery. Thank you for publishing this recipe; easy to follow. Kneading was not an issue once butter was added. .
Lizet
So happy you found it easy to follow, and I'm glad you liked the buns 😊
Angharad
Hello,
I made these recently and the flavour was delicious however, I didn't seem to get a light airy texture. They were very dense and stodgy. Do you have any insight as to why that might have been? I added more flour while I was kneading as I found it impossible to knead as the dough was so sticky (and didn't seem to improve even after 10 minutes). Is it possible I added too much flour?
Thank you!
Lizet
Hi Angharad. I'm sorry your bread was dense and not light and airy. Adding too much flour and then not kneading it long enough, can make the bread dense. Do you remember how much flour you added? was it just enough so it wasn't sticking to your hands? I find that I don't add as much flour to the dough when I just flour my hands and then knead it. And the more you knead it, the less sticky it gets.
I hope it turns out better next time.
Heidy McCallum
I love the idea of your recipe challenges and this recipe looks wonderful. I'm excited to try it as I have never had it before.
Lizet
Yeah, I love challenges like that, it helps me try new recipes 🙂
Sue
So excited to see this recipe, we used to get it on Cape Cod in the summer when I was growing up ~ I can't wait to make it in my own kitchen 🙂
Lizet
I'm glad you found the recipe, Sue!
Rebecca
this bread is so good! thanks for sharing your great recipe
Lizet
I'm glad you liked it Rebecca!
Angela
I love the crunchy coconut topping! So delicious!
Lizet
😊
Veena Azmanov
I can just snack on it. Such a cool and delicious option of the topping. I love the crust.
Lizet
I'm glad you liked it 🙂
Lucy Vasconcelos
I have been looking for a similar recipe that is a pastry with coconut in the centre. This recipe is a great substitute. It was delicious and very easy to make.
Lizet Flores de Bowen
I'm so glad you liked it! thanks for coming and letting us know 🙂
Katie
You didn’t instruct how to include the sugar in the dough. I had it all mixed before I realized the ingredient wasn’t incorporated into the directions.
Lizet Flores de Bowen
You are right Katie. I'm very sorry for this mistake. I just fixed the recipe card. I think the dough will rise without a problem. But it will be missing the sweetness. Sorry again and thanks for letting me know.
Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder
These look so good! I do love sweet yeasty dough rolls as that's something I grew up eating in Poland, however never with a coconut crust which looks and sounds delicious! Pinned! 🙂
Lizet Flores de Bowen
I grew up eating something similar to these rolls too. They were covered in a flour/butter sugary crust. So delicious! I'll look up Polish sweet bread soon. I love trying new recipes. Thanks for stopping by Jo Allison!
FrugalHausfrau
Oh yes yes yes please!! I am drooling over this!! Thanks for sharing with us at Fiesta Friday!!
Mollie
Lizet Flores de Bowen
Thanks for coming by!
Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook
I don’t think it’s a good idea to check my open before having breakfast! And now, I want these so bad to go with my morning coffee! I hope there is a ‘download food’ button.😅 Thanks for sharing! Happy Fiesta Friday!
Jhuls | The Not So Creative Cook
See? Typo error there - I meant ‘to check my phone’ Hahaha
Lizet Flores de Bowen
Oh! I so understand 🙂