Venezuelan Pan de Jamón Recipe

Hmmm.... Pan de Jamón! There are no words to describe this delicious Venezuelan bread, just hmms and yumss. The Pan de Jamón (bread filled with ham and bacon) is a tradition in Venezuela for the holidays season. You can start seeing it on the bread shops from the end of November until January. Off course when you live abroad, you have no other option but to make it yourself!

I was not going to venture into making bread this season, but this morning while talking to my mum, she mentioned that hers was already in the oven, so I got excited and asked for the recipe. Here it is! It takes about 3 hours to make so may still have time to do it this year!!!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg of flour (1.1lbs)
• 1 stick of butter
• 2 tbsp of yeast
• 4 tbsp of warm water
• Sugar and Salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• 300gr (0.6 lbs) of sliced ham
• 8 rashers of bacon
• Capers, Olives and Raisins

Preparation:

Mix the yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar on the warm water- Keep it apart - it will rise and foam.

Put the milk and the butter with one tbsp of sugar and a teaspoon of salt in a pot and put in the microwave for about 2minutes until the butter melts. Let it cool down a little until warm. Whisk 2 eggs in another container.

Place the flour on a big tray (I use my roaster) and make a volcano with it. Pour the yeast mixture in the volcano and the egg mixture. Blend together then add the milk mixture and knead for about 15 minutes until the dough is pliable and soft like play-doh. Roll into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and a couple of cloth towels and let it rest for 1 hour.

After one hour, uncover, take a small piece of dough (size of a lemon) and set aside for decoration. Roll the rest of the dough on top of a parchment paper in the shape f a rectangle. Make it relatively thin.

Cook the bacon in a pan and keep the fat.  Spread the bacon fat on the rolled dough. Then cover the whole piece with ham slices. Place the bacon on top of the ham in an order so there is bacon all over the bread. Pt some raisins, capers and olives to taste.

Now you need to roll the bread. Pick up an edge of the bread and start rolling to itself. Do this carefully, making sure that all the ham and stuff stays inside. Roll all the way to the end. Tusk in any extra ham and seal the edges of the dough. You will end up with a cylinder.

Roll the small piece you kept aside and choose a nice cookie cutter and make some decorations. Attach them to the bread.

Cover with the paper and a could of paper towels and let it rest for another hour.


Pre heat the oven at 350F. After the hour,  remove the towels. Put the bread in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove out of the oven. Whisk one egg with a little milk and with a brush, put this egg mixture all over the bread. Bring the bread back in the oven for another 20 minutes. You are done!!! let the bread cool in a rack and eat when warm!!! it is soooo delicious!!!