“Panquemao” (Bread bun)

Dissolve the yeast in the slightly warm milk and add the rest of the ingredients in the bowl where you are going to knead the bread.

Knead by hand or machine. It is a long process - keep in mind that with a machine you may need to knead for about 15-20 minutes.

Let the dough rest in the covered bowl to ferment. It should double in size. In summer, for this amount of flour and yeast, it may only take a couple of hours to be ready, but remember that in winter it may take a few hours more.

When the dough has doubled in size, divide it into two parts. Shape each part into a ball and roll to make them firm and give them a nice shape.

Arrange the two buns on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.

Let them rest again, well covered with cling film or a cotton tea towel until they double their size once more (this second fermentation will be shorter - between one and two hours).

Preheat the oven to 220C with heat both above and below, and place the tray in the middle section of the oven. Put the buns in and bake for 5 minutes.

Lower the temperature to 180Cº. Quickly open the oven, brush the buns with the beaten egg, and sprinkle with moistened sugar.

Stop baking when they look very golden.