Bonete Bread Recipe

Bonete Bread is made with evaporated milk, muscovado sugar and butter. It is said that the bread is so good it doesn't need to be eaten with anything else and we agree!

I've been reading up on breads from the Filipino Panaderia lately. There are so many breads being baked in old school bakeries that need to be more known. Bonete Bread or Pan de Bonete is one of them.

I highly recommend watching this Featr video of Tayabas Bakery in Quezon. It just shows all the hard work and love of making bread and how it is part of everyday life in the Philippines.

Hoping that these bakeries that sell affordable breads will stand the test of time forever and ever.

What does Bonete Mean?

Translating from Spanish to English Bonete means, bonnet or hat, cap, really some kind of head gear. When baked the finished bread looks like a super cute hat.

At the Tayabas Bakery they have special molds made that look like cones. The molds are placed over a ball of dough at it seeps out at the bottom creating a brim during proofing and the body is pointy like a hat.

We are going to do that here, but using a muffin tin and flipping it upside down to make our Bonete Bread really look like a hat.

Ingredients

Bread Flour - Has a higher protein content than regular flour so please always try to use bread flour when making bread.

Moscovado Sugar - Is highly used in the Philippines. Muscovite sugar is less processed and contains more minerals than white sugar. It also has a nice caramel flavor to it.

Yeast - Our main ingredient to make our Bonete Bread rise nice and high.

Salt - When there is sugar there should always be a pinch of salt.

Evaporated Milk - I'm really trying to stick with ingredients that they would use at a Filipino Panaderia. It's more shelf stable and doesn't need refrigeration. However you can use regular milk or a plant based milk if you prefer.

Water - Not a lot of water but just enough to get the perfect soft dough.

Butter - Traditionally margarine is used because of the same reason why evaporated milk is used. It doesn't melt in the humidity. However I decided on butter as I like the taste better. You can also use plant based butter instead. Just make sure it is soft but not melted.

Make the Bonete Bread Dough

I like to start by hydrating the dough first before kneading it. First mix together all the dry ingredients. In a large bowl of your stand mixer add in the flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix well.

Then add in the can of evaporated milk and water.

Mix with the dough hook until you get a shaggy looking dough. Don't mix it too much at this point. Just leave it to rest for 10 minutes so that the water and milk can hydrate the flour.

After 10 minutes put the bowl in the stand mixer with the dough hook attached and kneed / mix for 5 minutes until you get a nice soft dough.

Start adding the butter 1 slice at a time making sure the previous slice of butter has been fully absorbed by the Bonete Bread dough.

Keep going until all the butter has been added in and you get a super soft lush dough. Form it into a ball and cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 1 hour to rise.

Shaping the Bonete Bread

Once the dough has doubled in size divide the dough into 12 balls in equal size and weight.

Drop each ball into a buttered muffin tin.

Now this is when the magic happens. Where the Bonete bread becomes a hat.

You are going to place a silicon baking mat or parchment paper on top of the muffin tin and invert a baking sheet over it.

Then you are going to flip it over so that the muffin tin is now face down on the lined baking sheet.

Place in a warm area again and proof for 30-45 minutes until you see the dough popping out of the bottom like this.

The dough will seep out and rise and carry the tin with it. It is recommended to use a silicon muffin tin so it's not so heavy.

Baking the Bonete Bread

While the bread is proofing for a second time heat up your oven to 350F. Once the oven is ready bake the bread for 20 minutes. Looking for a golden color to the bread.

Lift off the muffin tin and put the bread back in the oven and bake the Bonete bread for a further 5 minutes.

Tips on how to make good bread

1. Use a scale to measure your ingredients. It is more accurate that using cups.
2. Use room temperature ingredients. They absorb into the Bonete Bread dough better.
3. Proof in warm humid environments. Heating up a cup of water in the microwave for 1 minute and then placing your plastic covered dough in the microwave after with the warm cup of water is ideal.
4. Make sure the oven has been at the ideal temperature for at least 10 minutes before baking the bread. So always turn on the oven while you are doing the second proof.

How to Serve and Store Bonete Bread

It's best just warm from the oven. I don't think it needs any butter and can be eaten as is. But if you want to add some additional butter and jam why not!

To store you can leave in a covered container on the counter top for 3 days. Longer than that you can transfer to the freezer and bring it to room temperature before toasting lightly. You can keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Don't forget to label it!

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