Pan de Mallorca
Nine soft Puerto Rican-style sweet rolls, shaped as buttered spirals and dusted with icing sugar.
Modern adaptation
Pan de agua
Puerto Rican water bread
Puerto Rican lean yeast bread shaped as two loaves or eight rolls and baked from a cold oven with a pan of boiling water for steam.
A lean Puerto Rican loaf
Pan de agua is a lean yeast bread associated by this recipe with Puerto Rico. The modern recipe source describes a thin, crackly crust and a light crumb. It makes two long loaves or eight rolls from a simple dough of bread flour, water, yeast, salt, sugar and a small amount of shortening or lard.
This batch uses about 105°F water and a little fat to keep the crumb tender. The author describes the cold-oven steam sequence as the feature that lets the loaves expand before the crust sets. The page also gives a personal childhood association with Aguadilla; that memory does not establish a precise birthplace or a universal formula.
Shape and proof
Mix the yeast, sugar, water, flour, salt and shortening into a soft, slightly tacky dough. After kneading, cover and let it rise until doubled, about an hour. Shape it as two long loaves or eight rolls, then leave it covered for 30–40 minutes, until puffy.
The written recipe gives a 25-minute preparation estimate, while its recipe card lists a one-hour total. Those figures do not account for both rises, baking and cooling. This method follows the explicit steps: about 90–100 minutes for the two rises, followed by baking and a 20-minute cool.
Cold-oven steam sequence
Brush the loaves with egg white wash or oil, slash their tops, and set the sheet on the middle rack of a cold oven. Put a metal pan on the lower rack, pour in two cups of boiling water, close the door, and turn the oven to 400°F. Do not preheat or open the door for the first 25 minutes.
The written method bakes loaves for about 30–35 minutes total and rolls for 20–25 minutes. It uses deep color and a hollow sound as its cues, but gives no internal bread temperature. Cool the bread on a rack before slicing.
Flour and steam handling
Do not taste the uncooked dough. FDA warns that raw flour can carry harmful bacteria and recommends washing hands, bowls, utensils and surfaces after handling it. The steam pan contains boiling water: pour it carefully with your hands and face clear, then close the oven door at once.
No proofing temperature or internal bread temperature is provided. The method's oven setting, steam sequence and bake cues are recorded as recipe instructions; they are not presented as validated safety limits.
History
The inspected modern recipe identifies itself as Puerto Rican pan de agua and places the author's personal childhood experience in Aguadilla. Its account of an island-wide bread style and cold-oven method is attributed to the recipe author; no dated earliest attestation or exclusive origin is established here.
Ingredients
Yield 2 loaves (or 8 rolls) · Scaling: source batch only
Active dry yeastOr use instant yeast.
11 mL2¼ tsp as recorded
1 packet.15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
Lukewarm waterAbout 105°F (40.6°C); a little more only if needed.
355 mL1½ cup as recorded
Bread flourAbout 500 g; all-purpose flour is an allowed softer alternative.
946 mL4 cup as recorded
9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
Vegetable shorteningOr lard.
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
Egg white (optional)Beat with 1 teaspoon water for the wash.
1
Or brush loaves with 1 tablespoon oil instead.Water (optional)For the egg-white wash.
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
Vegetable oil (optional)Alternative wash instead of egg white.
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
Boiling waterFor the steam pan.
473 mL2 cup as recorded
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour and dough
Flour may carry harmful bacteria; the dough must be cooked before eating.
Hazard sourceBoiling water and steam
Pouring boiling water into a pan inside the oven creates hot steam and can burn hands or face.
Hazard sourceDo not taste raw flour or dough. Wash hands, bowls, utensils and surfaces after handling flour and raw dough.
Control sourceUse a stable metal steam pan, keep hands and face clear of the steam path, pour carefully, and close the oven door immediately.
Control sourceThe source gives crust color and a hollow sound as its bake cues but no internal bread temperature. These cues are part of that method, not a measured safety limit.
The recipe card's one-hour total does not match the explicit rise, bake and cooling steps; the instructions and timing here follow the written steps.
- For active dry yeast, stir the yeast and sugar into the lukewarm water and leave for 5–10 minutes, until foamy. If using instant yeast, skip the proof and add it to the flour.
- Whisk the bread flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture and shortening; stir until a shaggy dough forms.
- Knead by hand for about 10 minutes, or with a stand mixer and dough hook on medium-low for 6–7 minutes, until the dough is smooth, soft and springy. It should remain slightly tacky rather than stiff.
- Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Punch down the dough and divide it into two pieces for loaves or eight for rolls. For loaves, roll each piece into a 12–14 inch log with tapered ends. Place seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover loosely and let rise until puffy, about 30–40 minutes.
- Beat the egg white with 1 teaspoon water and brush it over the loaves, or use 1 tablespoon oil instead. Slash each loaf once down the length, about ¼ inch deep.
- Set an empty metal pan on the bottom rack of a cold oven and put the baking sheet on the middle rack. Carefully pour 2 cups boiling water into the lower pan, close the door at once, then set the oven to 400°F (204°C). Do not preheat.
- Bake without opening the door for 25 minutes, then check. The source's full bake takes about 30–35 minutes for loaves and 20–25 minutes for rolls. It describes deep-golden loaves that sound hollow when tapped; it gives no internal temperature.
- Cool on a rack for 20 minutes before slicing.
Conditions
Yield2 loaves (or 8 rolls)
Active time25 min
Fermentation1.5–1.67 h
Places
Puerto Rico
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe inspected recipe identifies this batch as Puerto Rican pan de agua and describes the author's personal experience growing up with it in Aguadilla. This is a country-level recipe association, not a precise origin claim.
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Sources
Chef GoyaInspiration · Method · History · Geography
Pan de Agua Recipe: Puerto Rican Water Bread, Crackly CrustThe recipe makes two loaves or eight rolls from yeast, sugar, lukewarm water, bread flour, salt and shortening or lard, with egg-white or oil wash and a boiling-water steam pan.
It specifies about 105°F water, two rises of about one hour and 30–40 minutes, a cold oven with two cups boiling water below the loaves, 400°F oven setting, 30–35 minute loaf bake, and 20 minute cooling.
The page calls the bread Puerto Rican and describes the author's personal upbringing in Aguadilla. Its recipe card lists a one-hour total that conflicts with the written stages; this record follows the written method.
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowFDA says flour is usually raw, advises against tasting raw dough, and recommends washing hands, utensils and surfaces after handling it.