Pan dulce / Christmas sweet bread

Preparation steps

• Kvass
• Dissolve the yeast in room temperature water. Add flour and leave to rise for at least 1 hour.
• Dough
• In a multipractice grind almonds with sugar and marzipan cut into pieces.
• Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm milk. Add eggs, egg yolks, sugar and a mixture of almonds and marzipan. Add cognac and extracts. (I always add 1 teaspoon of honey.) Add yeast. Flour, sifted with salt, add alternately with soft butter.
• If necessary, add a little lukewarm milk to get a soft dough. (I've never needed it before). Knead until you get a smooth dough. Shape into a ball and place it in a bowl greased with butter. Cover with foil and allow to double in volume.
• Spread the mass with your hands and arrange the fruit (cut the rind and dates just a little, the rest whole). Stir a little to distribute the fruit nicely. You can change the fruit to taste, but let it be 600 g.
• Cut pieces of the desired size and form balls. Grease paper (or other, if you don't have) molds with butter and put dough. Cover and let rise a little over the edge.
• Roast
• Cut the risen dough into a cross. Coat with beaten egg and bake at 160 -180ºC, depending on your oven. I bake at 170, and then reduce to 160º. Cool the finished bread and decorate with white or dark chocolate and sprinkle with dried fruit as desired.
• Baking weight and time
• If you use standard paper molds: 1/4 kg pan dulce: cut 275 g pieces, bake for 20 min. 1/2 kg pan dulce: cut 550 g pieces, bake 35 min. pan dulce of 3/4 kg: cut into pieces of 800 g, bake for 45 min. 1 kg pan dulce: cut into 1100 g pieces, bake for 50 min.