Pão de Deus (Portuguese bread of God)

Bread of God is a literal translation. It's not a very known Portuguese sweet bread abroad but in Portugal it can be found in any bakery. Basically, it's a brioche bun with a sweet coconut topping.

I haven't eaten one of these sweet breads for years but it used to be my tea time preferred food when I lived in Portugal. They can be eaten as they are but I absolutely love them with ham and cheese. The only hiccup with them is their height. I really find it difficult to open my mouth wide enough to give it a full bite. But then, I have the same problem with burgers...

The recipe was sent to me by a friend but her recipe is from Bimby World and, obviously, it is to be done using a Bimby (Thermonix in the UK) and I don't have one so I had to work around the method to make it work. There were a few more changes as well. Originally the recipe makes 12 breads but they were too small, they weren't sweet enough, the egg wash was missing and then the coconut topping was way too much. After 3 batches I can confirm that the recipe is now spot on!

Serves: 9 breads.

Ingredients:

• For the brioche:
• 510g plain four
• 70g sugar
• 1 tbsp fast acting yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 85g butter
• 300ml warm milk
• egg wash: 1 beaten egg
• For the topping:
• 1 egg
• 1 yolk
• 100ml milk
• 35g sugar
• 20g plain flour
• 125g desiccated coconut
• Powdered sugar

Method:

1. Make the brioche:
1. Add the dry ingredients for the brioche into a bowl and mix.
2. Add the butter and the warm milk a bit at a time (you may not need to use it all) and knead the dough for 5-10 min.
3. Leave the dough to proof for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in 9 equal pieces. My pieces were 100g each.
   
   
   
5. Roll the pieces into balls.
6. Butter the ovenproof trays if they are not non-stick or use baking paper.
7. Place the balls on the trays and let it proof until doubled. It took around 2 hours.
   
   
   
8. Gently brush the top of the dough with egg wash.
   
   
   
2. Make the topping:
1. Add all the ingredients except the coconut into a small pan and cook on a low heat until thickened.
   
   
   
2. Add the coconut and mix well. It will be quite a thick mixture.
   
   
   
3. Divide the topping equally between the breads. Not an easy task as it is quite thick!
   
   
   
4. Bake in a 180°C oven for 15 minutes.
   
   
   
5. After cooled, dust with powder sugar. I forgot this bit!