Breads and doughs

Pão de Deus

A soft sweet bun with a coconut topping, very common in Portuguese bakeries.

RegionNationwide
DifficultyMedium
Total time1 hour 15 minutes
Yield10 units
Photo of Pão de Deus — traditional Portuguese recipe
Photo of the traditional Portuguese recipe.

Editorial content from Empório Portugal. Traditional recipes may vary by region, family and cook.

About the recipe

Pão de Deus is a soft, sweet bakery bun topped with a moist, golden coconut mixture.

It is served for breakfast or as an afternoon snack, often accompanied by coffee.

Ingredients

  • 500 g of flour
  • 10 g dried yeast
  • 220 ml warm milk
  • 80 g sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 70 g butter
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 150 g desiccated coconut
  • 1 egg yolk for brushing

Method

  1. Prepare the dough with the flour, yeast, milk, sugar, eggs, butter and salt.
  2. Knead and leave to rise.
  3. Shape into individual buns.
  4. Mix the coconut with sugar and the egg yolk to make the topping.
  5. Spread the coconut topping over the buns.
  6. Bake until golden.

Tips from Empório Portugal

  • The dough should be soft, not dry.
  • The coconut topping needs to stay moist.
  • Do not overbake; the buns should stay soft and airy.

Possible substitutions in Brazil

  • Dried coconut can be hydrated with milk.
  • Butter can be replaced with baking margarine.

Pairing

Coffee, milk or black tea. No mandatory alcoholic beverage.

Editorial note from Empório Portugal

This recipe is part of the editorial curation of Empório Portugal, developed from Portuguese culinary tradition. Like every traditional recipe, it may vary by region, family and cook.

Do you have a Portuguese family recipe?

Send it to the Empório Portugal community. Submitted recipes are reviewed before any publication.

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Quick facts

Prep
50 min
Cooking
25 min
Total time
1 hour 15 minutes
Yield
10 units
Difficulty
Medium
Occasion
Breakfast, snack

Pairing

Coffee, milk or black tea. No mandatory alcoholic beverage.

Empório tip

The dough should be soft, not dry.

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