Portuguese Buns, The Divine “Pão De Deus “!

It is commonly believed that “divine” buns were prepared on the occasion of Easter, especially on Easter Sunday. In fact, however, the roots of these unique buns should be looked for on another sheet of the calendar. Well, many sources say that children ate them right after the Mass on All Saints’ Day, that is on November 1.

Over time – with the progress of the conquest of new lands and the migration of Portuguese people around the world – traditional Portuguese buns managed to conquer the palates of the inhabitants of all continents.

At each latitude, a slightly different version of the recipe has developed. Nevertheless, they are all delicious, and their common denominator is yeast dough.

Portuguese buns – discover heaven in your mouth!

As we wrote in the introduction, “Pão de Deus” means “Bread of God”. It is a sweet pastry originated in Portugal. In short, such a divine bread resembles our bun – a bun with a light texture and fluffy texture. A characteristic feature of Portuguese baking, however, is an appetizing coconut sprinkle.

Note that the coconut sprinkles were added over time. The first sweet bun recipes didn’t smell like coconut at all. They used to be eaten only once or twice a year – on the occasion of big holidays – and today they can be enjoyed every day. What’s more, each of us can prepare this delicious delicacy at any time and enjoy it with morning coffee.

We are not entirely sure about the origins of this baking. It is known, however, that he comes from Portugal, from where he came by caravels to Brazil, and with time he also conquered the palates of the inhabitants of neighboring countries.

Although there are plenty of bun recipes, we want to give you the one that most closely matches the Portuguese original! Some people add lemon peel, cinnamon or their favorite liqueur.

A recipe for divine buns from Portugal

Ingredients for the mass (for about 12 servings)

• Pinch of salt
• Half a cube of butter (100 g)
• 2 medium-sized eggs
• 3/4 cup of sugar (150 g)
• 1/2 cup of milk (125 ml)
• 4 cups of plain flour (480 g)
• 2 tablespoons of fresh yeast (30 g)
• Optional: lemon peel, 3 tablespoons of rum (45 ml) or vanilla essence

Ingredients for the sprinkles

• 1 medium sized egg
• 1 cup of coconut flakes (100 g)
• 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar (30 g)
• 2 tablespoons of sugar (30 g)

How to prepare the mass?

1. Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat a little to make it lukewarm. Instead of cooking in a pot, you can also heat them up in the microwave.
2. Then dissolve the yeast in the milk. Mix thoroughly with a spoon so that both ingredients combine well. The next step is to add half a cup of flour (60 g) to the mixture.
3. Mix everything by hand until you get a uniform dough without lumps. Then cover the dish and set aside the resulting mass for about 10-15 minutes.
4. In the meantime, melt the butter in a small pot or in a microwave oven.
5. The next step is to pour the flour into a fairly large bowl. Make a cavity in the center of the mound, insert the eggs into it and pour the melted butter. Finally, add sugar and the previously prepared mixture of milk, yeast and flour.
6. Then mix the dough by hand or blend at low speed. Finally, make a ball of it, cover it with a clean cloth and put it in a warm place for about 2 hours. During this time, the dough will rise, significantly increasing its volume.
7. After two hours, prepare the worktop for work. Sprinkle the clean pastry board with flour to knead the dough on it for a while.
8. Knead the ball for about 5 minutes to give the dough elasticity. The ideal mass is soft, delicate and very plastic – easy to form buns.
9. Then, in the very center of the mass, make a recess and add a pinch of salt to it. Close the ball and knead for another 5 minutes. The bun mass is ready!

Preparation of buns

• Divide the ball into several small balls (about the size of a clenched fist). Then, lightly flatten them with a gentle touch to form a yeast bun.
• In the meantime, prepare the sprinkles. To do this, mix one egg, sugar and coconut shavings in a bowl. Then put the resulting mass in the refrigerator.
• Line the baking sheet with paper and heat the oven to 180 ºC.
• Arrange the buns on the baking tray at a considerable distance from each other (they will grow significantly during baking). Brush the buns with the beaten egg using a silicone brush. Then, take the coconut mixture out of the refrigerator and put it on top of each bun. One tablespoon of sprinkle per muffin is enough.

• Make sure the sprinkles do not slide off the bun.
• Bake the buns for about 30 minutes. When they turn deliciously golden, turn off the oven and sprinkle fine powdered sugar on them.

Portuguese buns can be served both hot and cold – depending on our preferences. In many countries, such as Venezuela, buns are cut in half and a piece of cheese is put inside. Others, on the other hand, love this baking accompanied by homemade marmalade or fresh fruit.