Puerto Rican Pan Sobao Is Your New Go-To Bread Recipe (2024)

Puerto Rican pan sobao is a pillowy-soft, chewy, and semi-sweet bread with a soft crust, and it's utterly delicious. Pan sobao translates to "kneaded" or "rubbed" bread and is sometimes called pan de manteca ("lard bread"), which is appropriate because lard is the key ingredient. After you taste this sumptuous bread, you'll discover why it's so well-loved and rarely lasts long. It's famously enjoyed from Puerto Rican bakeries, but an easy bread anyone—even beginners—can make at home. It may even become your family's new go-to white bread.

The pan sobao recipe is similar to a basic white bread, though the fat makes a significant difference. Many recipes use butter or oil, while pan sobao is best made with lard, giving the bread its chewier texture. While not traditional, vegetable shortening is a good substitute and makes the bread suitable for vegetarian and vegan diets. While there are many pan sobao variations, this recipe is very simple: You only need six ingredients and can knead it by hand or with your stand mixer.

This recipe is written for a single loaf, and it's easy to double when you want to bake two loaves at once. It's also a relatively quick yeast bread to make. You can bake two batches in one morning and have fresh bread for dinner with a few extra loaves to freeze for later.

Pan sobao is incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed on its own with butter or jam, used for garlic cheese bread, or toasted to accompany a cheeseboard. It makes excellent half-sized sandwiches, grilled cheese, and French toast too.

What You'll Need to Make This Pan Sabao Recipe

A Roll of Parchment Paper
A Sturdy Baking Sheet
A Handy Dandy Cooling Rack

Ingredients

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

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  2. In a medium mixing bowl, add the warm water and stir in the yeast and sugar until completely dissolved. Let it stand for 15 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom.

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  3. Mix in the lard, or shortening, then about 1 cup of bread flour and the kosher salt. Add more bread flour—about 1/4 cup at a time—until the dough begins to follow mixing spoon around the bowl.

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  4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Knead for 10 minutes, adding bread flour in small amounts as needed when it becomes sticky. (You may not use all of the flour.) The dough should be elastic and smooth.

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  5. Place the ball of dough in a lightly greased bowl and flip it over so both sides are greased. Cover with a lint-free kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes, or until double in size.

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  6. Punch down the dough. Turn it out onto a very lightly floured board and form it into a ball. Cover and let it rest for 5 minutes.

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  7. Gently knead the dough for about 1 minute, dusting it lightly with flour as needed to prevent sticking. Form the dough into a ball, cover with a towel and let rest for 15 minutes.

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  8. Roll the dough back and forth under your palms to shape the ball into a long baguette, about 12 inches long. As you roll, work from the middle to the ends so the loaf is a relatively even thickness.

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  9. Place the loaf on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover with a towel, and let rise for 30 minutes, or until double in size.

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  10. Preheat the oven to 400 F. When it's done proofing, place the bread on the oven's middle rack and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath.

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  11. Let the bread rest for a few minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely before slicing.

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Tips

  • For consistent bread, weigh out the ingredients using a metric kitchen scale.
  • You can use all-purpose flour, though the bread may not rise as much because bread flour has more gluten.
  • Use your stand mixer to make the dough if you prefer. Switch to the dough hook once it comes together and knead it on medium speed for about seven minutes.
  • The amount of flour you need and the proofing times will change with your kitchen environment. Open windows, air conditioners, heaters, and humidity can affect yeast development throughout the year, so make adjustments as needed. For the most control, proof your bread in the oven with the light on. Just don't forget it's in there and accidentally turn on the heat!
  • Use the convection bake function on your oven for even baking and a softer crust (pan sobao's crust softens as it cools). In any oven, a steamer will help as well: Fill a metal pan with about two inches of water and place it on the bottom rack of the oven while it preheats.
  • Pan sobao will keep at room temperature for about three days. Freeze any extra bread for up to three months.

How Warm Is Warm Water for Bread Making?

Lukewarm water is crucial for activating the yeast when making bread; 90 F is minimum, but 105 F to 115 F is best. The water should not be hot because the yeast will begin to die in water that's hotter than 120 F. Heat the water gently in a saucepan or in the microwave and check the temperature with a thermometer. When mixed with water, the yeast should bloom, bubbling and foaming during the resting period. If it does not, your yeast might be dead—it may be too old or the water was too hot.

What's the Difference Between Pan Sobao and Pan de Agua?

Pan sobao is sometimes confused with pan de agua ("water bread"), a popular bread in Puerto Rico and Cuba that's famous for Cuban sandwiches. As the name implies, pan de agua recipes use a good amount of water and have a crispier crust.

Traditional Italian Bread

  • Breads
  • Yeast Breads
  • Caribbean Food
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
196Calories
4g Fat
34g Carbs
5g Protein

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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories196
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 4g5%
Saturated Fat 1g7%
Cholesterol 3mg1%
Sodium 120mg5%
Total Carbohydrate 34g12%
Dietary Fiber 1g5%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 0mg0%
Calcium 7mg1%
Iron 0mg2%
Potassium 51mg1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

  • baguette
  • side dish
  • caribbean
  • family dinner

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Puerto Rican Pan Sobao Is Your New Go-To Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between pan de agua and pan sobao? ›

Pan sobao or Pan de manteca (rubbed bread or lard bread) is semi sweet, supper soft and fluffy and they sell you two loaves in one paper bag. It makes great breadcrumbs for breading... if it lasts long enough. Pan de agua (Water bread) is kinda like a French baguette but wider and about 1 1/2ft long.

How many calories does pan sobao have? ›

Los Cidrines Pan Sobao (1 slice) contains 31g total carbs, 30g net carbs, 1.5g fat, 3g protein, and 150 calories.

Is Pan sobao Cuban? ›

La Creacion Bakery makes two types of Puerto Rican bread — pan soboa, which means “kneaded bread” and is sweet and soft, and pan de agua, which means “water bread” and is like Italian bread with a crust that is hard yet slightly softer than Cuban bread.

What is the history of pan sobao? ›

In the earliest recipes, the ingredients were bread dough, white sugar and butter with pasiego with eggs, lemon zest and anise liquor or rum. The modern sobao was developed in 1896, when a cook named Eusebia Hernández Martín replaced the bread dough with flour.

What is pan sobao made of? ›

Pan sobao is a bread enriched with milk, butter, and eggs, which gives it a softer and spongier texture. Pan de agua, on the other hand, is made with very little fat, or even no fat at all, which makes it a more rustic and light bread, more similar to French bread.

What is the crispy rice at the bottom of the pan called in Puerto Rico? ›

In Puerto Rican cuisine, scorched rice is called pegao (shortened "pegado", "stuck").

How much fat is in Cuban bread? ›

Cuban bread (1 medium slice - 4 1/2" x 3 1/4" x 1/2") contains 10.4g total carbs, 10g net carbs, 0.7g fat, 1.8g protein, and 55 calories.

How many calories are in 6 inches of Cuban bread? ›

Bake Crafters INACTIVE - Cuban Roll, White, 6", Hinge Sliced. Portion to provide at least 195 calories, with no more than 2 grams of fat.

Is Cuban bread high in calories? ›

Bread, Cuban contains 82 calories per 30 g serving.

What is pan de agua? ›

Pan de Agua (Water Bread) is a very popular bread in the Caribbean. This bread has an outer crispy crust with an airy and fluffy center. It is very similar to Italian and French bread. Since most Pan de Agua recipes call for several cups of water, it is referred to as Water Bread.

Is pan dulce the same as pan de muerto? ›

Pan de muerto (Spanish for 'bread of the dead') is a type of pan dulce traditionally baked in Mexico and the Mexican diaspora during the weeks leading up to the Día de los Muertos, which is celebrated from November 1 to November 2.

Is there a difference between Puerto Rican bread and Cuban bread? ›

The Puerto Rican Bread is the island's version of the “Pan de Agua” (water bread) one finds all over the Spanish Caribbean. It is similar to the Cuban Bread in look and texture, with its light color crust and soft dough, yet larger (11 oz) and with a slightly sweeter taste.

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