Venezuelan Pan de Jamón Recipe

4.80 from 64 votes

Venezuelan Pan de Jamón Recipe

A symbol of the Venezuelan Christmas culinary traditions, this is the most delicious and easy-to-make pan de jamón (ham bread) you can dream of. First of all, it comes packed with one whole pound of ham. Last but not least, you do not have to knead anything! Make it and everybody will ask you for the recipe!

Prep Time1 45

Cook Time30

Resting Time30

Total Time2 45

Course: Breads

Cuisine: Venezuelan

Keyword: how to make pan de jamon, how to make Venezuelan pan de jamón, pan de jamon recipe, Veneazuelan pan de jamón recipe

Servings: loaf

Calories: 3698kcal

Author: Enri

Ingredients

¼ cup tepid water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon yeast
420 grams all-purpose flour
3 eggs 2 for the dough and 1 for the egg wash
1⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon tepid milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted 2 tablespoons to make the dough, and the rest to assemble the bread, and finishing it)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 bacon strips
1 pounds ham thinly sliced
20 Manzanilla olives stuffed with piquillo pepper whole
½ cup manzanilla olives stuffed with piquillo pepper sliced
½ cup raisins
½ cup blond raisins
1 tablespoon papelón syrup piloncillo syrup, you can substitute with molasses

Instructions

Dissolve the white sugar in the water.
Add the yeast and let it rise for about 15 minutes.
Once the yeast has risen, add the flour, yeast water, milk, two eggs, and three tablespoons of melted butter in the bowl of a mixer with the kneading hook.
Process until a smooth dough forms. You may need to add a little more flour.
Make a ball with the dough in a large bowl with a few drops of olive oil. Brush the dough with the same oil to prevent it from drying out and cracking. Cover it with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rise for at least half an hour or until it doubles in size.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
On a floured surface, with a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle measuring 15 by 20 inches and ¼ inch thick (40 cm x 50 cm and 5 mm thick.)
Brush the dough with melted butter.
Spread the brown sugar over the dough.
Make a row with the whole stuffed olives on the edge that will be the center of the bread. Wrap the olives with the dough, and press with your fingers to ensure the olives stay in place.
Add a good layer of ham on top of the olives row. Ham slices must overlap each other.
Cover the rest of the dough with ham. Leave about 3 inches of dough uncovered. Instead of spreading the ham, put it folded or as if it were a ruffle.
Add the bacon strips.
Sprinkle with sliced olives and raisins.
Roll up carefully. The idea is that the roll is not tight but somewhat loose.
Make a few cuts in the dough that remain uncovered, starting from the center and dividing into two, four, and eight strips. Wrap the loaf with those dough strips.
With a fork, prick the bread all the way through.
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking dish.
Transfer the bread to the baking tray. Cover it with a clean towel and let the bread rise for half an hour.
In a bowl, make an egg wash. Beat the remaining egg with papelón syrup (or molasses) and brush the loaf.
Bake for 30 minutes, rotating the tray every 10 minutes.
The bread is ready once the crust is evenly golden.
Remove from the oven and brush the loaf with melted butter.
Let cool completely before slicing.

Video

Notes

The nutritional values are estimated per loaf. Each loaf may serve 12 people.

Nutrition