Baleada tortillas
Soft wheat-flour rounds from an INCAP Honduran baleada recipe are rolled thin and cooked on a dry skillet; this record covers tortillas, not the filled dish.
Modern adaptation
Honduran semitas with coating
Semitas
Honduran sweet yeast breads made from an egg-enriched dough, covered in a separate sugar-and-butter paste and baked in golf-ball-sized portions.
A Honduran semita with a sweet covering
Buen Provecho presents this as a Honduran semita: an enriched dough is divided into small balls and wrapped in a separate sweet paste before baking. The page names the paste ingredients separately and gives 28 golf-ball-sized dough portions. It reports 8–10 servings in the page summary but does not define a serving size, so this recipe states the piece count rather than converting it into people.
The publication describes several distinct Honduran semitas, including yema, rice, pelona and long forms. This recipe follows the measured sweet-paste method from its Semitas page; it does not substitute the separate rice-flour or long-semita methods. A related Buen Provecho article repeats an oral account that semita de yema began in Tegucigalpa in 1910, but gives no contemporaneous source. The date remains an oral tradition for which the article supplies no contemporaneous evidence, not a first-attestation claim.
The recipe page lists five whole eggs in the dough, although its introduction calls the traditional semita yolk-based. The method here follows the ingredient list as printed and adds a sourced egg-temperature check. The listed 350°F bake remains the starting time; the largest roll should reach 71.1°C (160°F) at its centre.
A family bakery beyond Honduras
Jacqueline García's 2020 report follows Johanna Reyes and Edwin Amador, who moved from Olancho to California in 2012 and continued making semitas there. They began baking at home and sharing their business through relatives, friends and community networks. This documents one family's food work after migration.
The report also describes the morning pairing of semita and coffee. It does not identify the origin of all semitas or supply the exact formula used here. Laura Morales's whole-egg dough, separate sweet covering and twenty-eight pieces remain intact; the oral 1910 account stays separate from dated historical evidence.
Sources for this section
History
Buen Provecho describes semitas as a Honduran sweet bread and distinguishes semita de yema, semita de arroz, semita pelona and semita larga. Its history article repeats a tradition that semita de yema was first made in Tegucigalpa in 1910 by two Spanish women, but provides no contemporaneous documentation; this recipe does not treat that date as established. The selected recipe page lists five whole eggs despite describing the traditional style as yolk-based, so the written formula is kept as printed.
Ingredients
Yield 28 pieces · Scaling: source batch only
Wheat flourFor the dough.
946 mL4 cup as recorded
SugarFor the dough.
118 mL½ cup as recorded
EggsAdd one at a time to the dough.
5 eggs
The recipe source lists whole eggs, though its introduction describes the traditional bread as yolk-based.Yellow butterFor the dough.
177 mL¾ cup as recorded
Source says mantequilla amarilla.30 mL2 tbsp as recorded
The source does not specify fresh or dry yeast.4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
WaterFor the dough.
118 mL½ cup as recorded
Wheat flourFor the sweet coating paste.
710 mL3 cup as recorded
SugarFor the sweet coating paste.
355 mL1½ cup as recorded
Yellow butterFor the sweet coating paste.
473 mL2 cup as recorded
The source suggests adding more if the paste is too dry, without specifying an amount.WaterFor the sweet coating paste.
74 mL5 tbsp as recorded
VanillaFor the sweet coating paste.
9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour in dough
Flour can carry harmful bacteria and is handled before baking.
Hazard sourceRaw eggs in dough
The dough contains five eggs before baking, so the semitas need to cook thoroughly.
Hazard sourceDo not taste raw flour or dough; wash hands, utensils and work surfaces after handling.
Control sourceBake until the centre of the largest semita reaches 71.1°C (160°F), checked with a clean thermometer; continue baking if needed.
Control sourceDo not taste raw flour or dough. The source bake time is 30 minutes; confirm the centre reaches 71.1°C (160°F) because the dough contains eggs.
- In a mixer, combine the dough flour, sugar, yeast and salt.
- With the mixer running, add the butter, ½ cup water and the five eggs one at a time. Mix until a uniform dough forms.
- Knead by hand for 5 minutes. Put the dough in a greased bowl and leave it to rest for 1 hour.
- For the coating paste, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the vanilla and 5 tablespoons water and mix.
- Add the coating flour gradually and knead by hand. If the paste feels very dry, the source suggests adding a little more butter, without giving a quantity.
- Knead the rested dough again and divide it into 28 golf-ball-sized pieces.
- Divide the coating paste into portions, stretch each portion and place it over a dough ball, sealing the covering around it.
- Arrange the covered balls on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F (about 177°C) for 30 minutes. Check that the centre of the largest semita reaches 160°F (71.1°C) because the dough contains eggs; continue baking if needed.
- Let the semitas cool before serving.
Conditions
Yield28 pieces
Active time45 min
Fermentation1 h
Temperature177°C
Temperature controlMulti-stage
Places
Honduras
Documented preparation · Country evidenceBuen Provecho presents semitas as Honduran; this country-level association does not establish a specific birthplace.
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Sources
Buen ProvechoMethod · Geography
SemitasThe page identifies semitas as a traditional Honduran sweet bread and provides the dough and coating ingredients.
The formula uses 4 cups flour, ½ cup sugar, five eggs, ¾ cup yellow butter, 2 tablespoons yeast, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ cup water for the dough; the coating uses 3 cups flour, 1½ cups sugar, 2 cups yellow butter, 5 tablespoons water and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
The method rests the dough for 1 hour, divides it into 28 golf-ball-sized portions, covers each with the sweet paste and bakes at 350°F for 30 minutes. The page summary says 8–10 servings without defining serving size.
Cited in: A Honduran semita with a sweet covering; A family bakery beyond Honduras
Buen ProvechoHistory · Geography
Historia de la semita, un pan tradicional de la cocina hondureñaThe article describes semitas as Honduran sweet breads commonly eaten with coffee and names yema, rice, pelona and larga varieties.
It repeats an oral-tradition account that semita de yema was first made in Tegucigalpa in 1910 by two Spanish women; it cites no contemporaneous documentation.
Cited in: A Honduran semita with a sweet covering
Buen ProvechoHistory
Conoce los diferentes tipos de semitas hondureñasThe publisher distinguishes Honduran semita de yema, semita de arroz, semita pelona and semita larga as separate forms.
Cited in: A Honduran semita with a sweet covering
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowRaw flour can carry harmful bacteria; do not eat or taste raw flour, dough or batter; wash hands, utensils and surfaces after handling.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection ServiceSafety
By what methods can you cook eggs safely?USDA guidance says egg dishes should reach 160°F (71.1°C), checked with a food thermometer.
Cited in: A Honduran semita with a sweet covering
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
What You Need to Know About Egg SafetyFDA advises cooking egg dishes to 160°F and checking with a food thermometer.
Cited in: A Honduran semita with a sweet covering
La OpiniónContext
Semitas Katrachas: un apapacho durante la pandemia2020 reporting describes Johanna Reyes and Edwin Amador, migrants from Olancho in 2012, making semitas in California and promoting them among family and community.
Cited in: A family bakery beyond Honduras
Wikimedia Commons / Cantina FoodieTravellerImage reference
Semitas (estilo hondureño).jpg20 March 2012 own-work Honduran-style semitas photo; individually checked CC BY-SA 4.0, excluded from PD/CC0 references.