Vegan Pan de Mallorca (Puerto Rican Sweet Rolls)

January 19, 2023

2 hours 25 minutes

hard

4-6

Sweet bread rolls, orange and anise flavored, topped with powdered sugar—an egg-free take on a classic Puerto Rican breakfast.

After my second visit to Mexico City, where I experienced the tastiest pan de muerto, I developed this recipe. The light texture of the sweet pastry worked wonderfully with the hints of orange and anise. When I returned from my trip, I couldn’t stop thinking about the pastry and realized it had a subtle sweetness to it akin to the Puerto Rican pan de Mallorca. Traditionally, egg yolks are used to make pan de Mallorca and give it that bright color, but this variation is egg-free and just as delectable.

Pan de Mallorca is a popular sweet bread in Spain, typically made with eggs and butter, but this recipe replaces those ingredients by using a method called Tangzhong that, with a bit of practice, creates the most airy, layered, and wonderful pastry. The bread dough is made with yeast, which helps it rise. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic before placing it in a bowl, covered and allowed to proof. After it has doubled in size, the dough is then shaped into balls, covered, placed on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper and left to proof for 30 minutes until it has doubled in size, once again. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, oven, or both, this time may vary. Make sure to preheat the oven to 350 degrees after taking them out. This will allow time for the oven to heat up as you shape your bread into rolls, so they can bake quickly and evenly and develop a nice shell. Your pan de Mallorca will turn out light and airy (not dense and heavy).

It’s hard to imagine having any leftovers of this bread, but if you do, a great way to use them up is to cut them into thick slices and make mallorca french toast! Here’s a recipe for vegan Mallorca French toast with a maple-pineapple topping.

Reviews

Ingredients:

Adjust Servings

	3 1/3 cup (415g) bread flour
	2/3 cup (165mL) plant-based milk, I used soy (1 tbsp for egg wash)
	1/4 cup (50g) organic cane sugar
	1/4 cup (70mL) melted vegan butter
	1pack instant dried yeast (2 1/4 tsps)
	2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
	1 tsp vanilla extract or orange blossom water
	1 tbsp orange juice (or orange zest)
	1/2 tsp salt, omit if using salted butter
	2 tsp orange zest
	1 tbsp fennel seeds (optional)
	1 tsp anise seed extract
	2 egg replacement (reserve 1 for egg wash)
	3 tbsp confectioners sugar (for orange glaze and dusting)

Ingredients for Tangzhong mixture

	27g bread flour
	138g water

Directions

Instructions

Make the Tangzhong roux by cooking the flour and water over medium-low heat. Once the mixture begins to thicken, turn off the heat and continue stirring. It is ready when a thick paste is formed. Exact cooking time may vary depending on cookware and individual stovetops but it should only take about 3-4 minutes. Take it off the heat to cool to room temperature and transfer to mixing bowl.

Mark as complete

Make the bread dough by mixing flour, sugar, salt (if butter is unsalted), together in a large mixing bowl.

Mark as complete

In a separate bowl mix together the yeast and milk. Let sit for 5 minutes. Check for air bubbles or foam. This means your yeast is alive and ready to be used. If yeast does not create bubbles, discard and use another packet.

Mark as complete

Add the milk yeast mixture to the Tangzhong roux, add vanilla, apple cider and egg replacement. Combine dry ingredients plus orange zest, fennel seeds and anise seed extract. Fold dry ingredients slowly into the batter until it comes together in a dough.

Mark as complete

Add the softened butter and knead until dough becomes elastic and smooth and you can stretch it into a windowpane.

Mark as complete

Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and put in the oven to proof until it doubles in size, for about an hour.

Mark as complete

Remove dough from the oven, separate into individual buns and proof again in the oven for 30 minutes.

Mark as complete

Brush top of loaves with melted butter and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until top is golden-brown. Once removed from the oven, brush the bread with orange sugar syrup to give them an irresistible shine and sweetness. Dust with confectioners sugar and enjoy.