Mexico Pan Dulce (Sweet Bread)
Pan dulce, or "sweet bread," is a beloved Costa Rican pastry enjoyed as a comforting treat with coffee or as a light snack throughout the day. Known for its soft, fluffy texture and gentle sweetness, pan dulce comes in a variety of shapes, flavors, and colors, often decorated with a dusting of sugar or a swirl of colored dough on top. Common varieties include round, sugar-crusted buns, braided rolls, and filled pastries with sweetened cream or fruit jams. Panaderías (bakeries) across Costa Rica showcase a wide assortment of these treats, where the aroma of freshly baked bread fills the air. Costa Ricans typically enjoy pan dulce in the morning with their café chorreado (drip coffee) or as part of an afternoon snack, known locally as cafecito. This simple yet delicious pastry holds a special place in Costa Rican daily life, symbolizing warmth, community, and the tradition of gathering with loved ones over coffee and sweet bread. Fortified with fruit and nuts, pan dulce is commonly served as a Christmas specialty.
Recipe Servings: 6–8
+ 2 hours resting
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (475 ml) lukewarm milk
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) salt
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 3½ Tbsp (30 g) fresh yeast
- 7 Tbsp (105 g) butter
- 3½ Tbsp (32 g) raisins
- 7 Tbsp (105 g) chopped dried fruit (cook's preference)
- 3½ Tbsp (30 g) chopped hazelnuts
- 1¾ Tbsp (16 g) blanched slivered almonds
- 1¾ Tbsp (17 g) chopped chestnuts or whole pine nuts
- 1 egg, beaten
Directions
- Mound flour on a surface suitable for kneading.
- Make a well in the middle of flour and place milk, salt, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, crumbled yeast, and butter in it.
- Mix ingredients together and then knead to form a smooth, elastic dough.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rest in a warm place for 60 minutes.
- Punch down dough and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Add raisins, dried fruit, hazelnuts, almonds, and chestnuts to the dough, mixing well.
- Divide dough into two equal parts, form each into a ball, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Place each piece of dough in a buttered baking dish and let rest until doubled in volume.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175ºC) and brush dough with beaten egg.
- Slice an X in the top of each loaf using scissors or a sharp knife and put a little butter in each cut.
- Bake pan dulce for 60 minutes, until golden and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove pan dulce from oven and let cool before slicing.
Notes
- Dough may be divided into smaller portions to make buns.
- For richer dough, two egg yolks can be substituted for one of the whole eggs.
- Two packets (15 g) active dry yeast can be substituted for fresh yeast. Dissolve the yeast in the milk with 1 teaspoon (5 ml) sugar to proof the yeast before adding it to the flour.
- The quantity and type of dried fruit and nuts can be varied to taste. Up to 1 cup (240 ml) total can be used.
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