Pan de agua
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.
Modern adaptation
Pan sobao
Pan de manteca
Puerto Rican pan sobao made with a small yeast poolish, lard or shortening, and a steam-baked crust; this batch yields two loaves.
Puerto Rican pan sobao
This version is Marta Rivera's Puerto Rican pan sobao: a lightly sweetened wheat dough with a small yeast poolish and lard or vegetable shortening. It makes two loaves. The recipe page says the author first published it in 2017 and explains sobao as related to sobar, or kneading; it also mentions pan de manteca as an alternate name.
Dominican pan sobao is documented separately. The Dominican Cooking recipe by Clara Gonzalez uses a different enriched dough with milk, egg and butter and a repeated roll-and-fold step. This page follows Rivera's Puerto Rican poolish formula and does not combine the two.
Sources for this section
Poolish and dough
Make the poolish the day before: mix the small flour, water and yeast quantities, cover, leave for eight hours at room temperature, then refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Bring it back to room temperature before mixing the dough. Bloom the dough yeast in part of the warm water and sugar, then mix in the fat, poolish and remaining water.
Add three cups of flour gradually, followed by the salt, then switch to the dough hook. Add more flour gradually and knead for about ten minutes until soft, elastic and not sticky. The source gives a flour range because conditions affect absorption. Let the covered dough rise until doubled, about an hour.
Sources for this section
Shape, proof and bake
Fold the risen dough three or four times, rest it for five minutes, divide it in two and round the pieces. Cover and rest ten minutes, shape into 12-inch loaves and set them on a parchment-lined half-sheet pan. Cover and proof until doubled, usually 30–60 minutes in the source's suggested unheated oven with its light on.
Heat the oven to 400°F with a cast-iron skillet inside. Carefully add two cups of ice to the hot skillet, close the door and let steam build for five minutes. Put the loaves on the empty rack and bake until golden and hollow-sounding. The source gives conflicting bake times: 15–20 minutes on the recipe card and 20–25 in the narrative. Begin checking at 15 minutes. It gives no internal temperature. Cool five minutes on the pan, then finish cooling on a rack.
Sources for this section
Handling flour and steam
Do not taste the uncooked dough. The FDA notes that raw flour may carry harmful bacteria and recommends washing hands, utensils and surfaces after handling it. Adding ice to hot cast iron releases steam: keep hands and face away from the skillet and use oven protection.
The source's visual and sound cues are recipe instructions, not validated safety limits. No internal temperature or evidence-based storage limit is supplied.
Sources for this section
Timing and storage notes
The source's timed fermentation stages add to at least 9.5 hours: eight hours for the poolish, about one hour for bulk fermentation and 30 minutes for final proof. The poolish then spends up to 24 additional hours refrigerated before mixing; including that source-permitted delay gives an upper elapsed fermentation time of about 34 hours, before the one-hour poolish tempering period. The recipe does not state a refrigerator temperature.
Rivera says the baked loaves begin to stale after a day or two, recommends using them within two or three days, and says they freeze well for two months when wrapped and bagged. These are the author's storage and quality recommendations, not validated safety limits. The formula contains no milk or egg; its poolish is the only planned moist hold before baking.
Sources for this section
History
Marta Rivera's modern recipe page identifies her version as Puerto Rican pan sobao and says she first published it in 2017. This supports the recipe's regional association and date of publication, not a historical origin or earliest attestation.
Ingredients
Yield 2 loaves, about 1 lb each · Scaling: source batch only
Bread flourFor the poolish.
16 g
WaterWarm; for the poolish.
30 mL2 tbsp as recorded
Active dry yeastFor the poolish.
1 g
Warm water350 ml total, divided; use 3 tbsp to bloom the yeast.
355 mL1½ cup as recorded
Granulated sugar3 tbsp.
37 g
Active dry yeast4½ tsp, about 2 packets.
15 g
Lard¼ cup; vegetable shortening is the source-listed alternative.
51 g
PoolishUse all of the prepared poolish.
1 batch
Bread flour4½–5 cups; add gradually and use only enough for a soft, elastic, non-sticky dough.
615 g
The source gives a range of 615–680 g; humidity and elevation affect the amount.Kosher salt1½ tsp.
8 g
IceFor steam in a preheated cast-iron skillet.
473 mL2 cup as recorded
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw flour and dough
Flour is raw and may carry harmful bacteria; do not taste uncooked dough.
Hazard sourceHot cast iron, ice and steam
Adding ice to a hot skillet can release a sudden burst of steam and cause burns.
Hazard sourceDo not eat or taste raw dough. Wash hands, bowls, utensils, pans and work surfaces after handling flour and dough.
Control sourceUse oven mitts and long tongs or a heat-safe method to add ice without reaching over the skillet; keep face and hands clear of the steam path and close the oven door promptly.
Control sourceThe source's recipe card gives a 15–20 minute bake, while its narrative gives 20–25 minutes; the recipe instructs checking from 15 minutes and supplies golden color and a hollow sound as cues.
The source gives no internal bread temperature or validated storage limit.
- The day before baking, stir 16 g bread flour, 2 tbsp warm water and 1 g active dry yeast in a small bowl. Cover. Leave at room temperature for 8 hours, then refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Use the poolish within that refrigerated period.
- About 1 hour before mixing, take the poolish from the refrigerator. In a stand-mixer bowl, stir 3 tbsp of the measured warm water with the sugar and 15 g yeast. Leave for 5 minutes.
- Add the lard or shortening, room-temperature poolish and remaining warm water. Mix with the paddle for about 2 minutes. On the lowest speed, add 3 cups of the flour, then the salt. When the mixture resembles a thick batter, switch to the dough hook.
- Add the remaining flour gradually. Knead on low for about 10 minutes, until the dough is soft and elastic and pulls away from the bowl without being sticky. The source gives 615–680 g flour for the dough; humidity and elevation affect how much is needed.
- Lightly oil a bowl, put in the dough, turn it once to coat the surface, and cover. Leave in an unheated oven or closed microwave for about 1 hour, until doubled.
- Fold the dough over itself 3 or 4 times. Cover it with the inverted bowl and rest 5 minutes. Divide into two equal pieces, round each piece, cover with a towel and rest on the counter for 10 minutes.
- Shape each piece into a roughly 12-inch log and set both on a parchment-lined half-sheet pan. Cover and proof in an unheated oven with the light on for 30–60 minutes, until doubled. A light touch should leave a dent that springs back slowly.
- While the loaves proof, heat the oven to 400°F (204°C) with a cast-iron skillet on a rack above or below an empty middle rack. When proofing is complete, carefully add 2 cups ice to the hot skillet. Close the door and let steam build for 5 minutes.
- Quickly place the sheet pan on the empty rack. Bake until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped. The recipe card says 15–20 minutes; the narrative says 20–25 minutes. Start checking at 15 minutes and use the source's visual and sound cues; no internal temperature is specified.
- Remove the loaves from the oven. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack and cool completely before slicing.
Conditions
Yield2 loaves, about 1 lb each
Active time45 min
Fermentation9.5–34 h
Places
Puerto Rico
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe inspected Sense & Edibility recipe identifies this batch as Puerto Rican pan sobao. Dominican pan sobao is documented separately and is not represented by this formula.
Related
More from Puerto Rico
Pan de Mallorca
Nine soft Puerto Rican-style sweet rolls, shaped as buttered spirals and dusted with icing sugar.
Mayoketchup with garlic and lime
Mayonnaise and ketchup with garlic powder and lime make this proposed dipping sauce for surullitos; its ratio is an original, untested choice, not a Puerto Rican standard.
Puerto Rican sofrito (recaíto)
Puerto Rican sofrito, also called recaíto, is a raw paste of culantro, ají dulce, onion, garlic and peppers that starts many island dishes.
Salsa golf / pink sauce
A cold mayonnaise-and-tomato condiment family with distinct documented forms in Argentina, Peru and Puerto Rico; this draft records a Peruvian caper-and-orange version and keeps its regional relatives separate.
Related in the family
Agege bread (soft home-style variation)
This softer home-style Agege bread uses a scalded flour paste, an enriched yeast dough and a 9×5-inch loaf pan, with rolls from the extra dough.
Anadama
Anadama is a New England yeast loaf made with wheat flour, cornmeal and molasses. Scalded cornmeal enriches the dough, while molasses lends sweetness and a dark crust; it is especially good toasted or beside soup and baked beans.
Bagel
A yeast-raised wheat ring shaped from a firm dough, briefly boiled and baked. This source-batch formula gives a gently malted crust and a chewy crumb.
Baguette with overnight poolish
Three long, crusty wheat loaves made with an overnight yeast poolish, shaped by hand and baked with steam for a crisp crust.
Bajan salt bread
A lightly salted, yeast-raised Barbadian roll, baked in a dozen-roll home batch and often split for cutters.
Belgian pistolet
A crisp Belgian roll made from a supplier’s Croc-flour dough, mixed by hand or machine, proofed in rounds and baked with steam.
Bialy
Bialys are soft, yeasted wheat rolls baked without boiling, each shaped with an onion-filled central depression instead of a hole.
Birote salado estilo Guadalajara (Cardamomo home method)
A measured, commercial-yeast home method for Guadalajara-style birote salado, with a six-hour preferment, shaped rolls and a two-temperature steam bake. This formula contains no egg.
Community
No community contributions have been published for this entry yet.
Share what you made
Sign in to contribute. Published comments and photos are free to read.
Sources
Sense & EdibilityInspiration · Method · History · Geography
Pan Sobao: Soft, Chewy Puerto Rican BreadThe author identifies this recipe as Puerto Rican pan sobao, explains the name sobao/pan de manteca, and says the recipe was first published in 2017.
The recipe makes two loaves from a poolish of bread flour, water and active dry yeast, rested 8 hours at room temperature and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.
The recipe supplies the dough quantities, staged mixing, bulk rise, shaping, second proof, 400°F bake with ice in a preheated cast-iron skillet, and 5-minute pan cooling.
The page's narrative says 20–25 minutes of baking while the recipe card says 15–20; its visual and hollow-sound cues are not internal temperature limits.
The source recommends consuming baked loaves within two or three days, says they begin to stale after a day or two, and says wrapped loaves freeze well for two months; these are source storage/quality suggestions, not validated safety limits.
Cited in: Puerto Rican pan sobao; Poolish and dough; Shape, proof and bake; Handling flour and steam; Timing and storage notes
Dominican CookingHistory · Geography
Pan Sobao / Sobado (Breakfast Bread Roll)This separately identified Dominican recipe describes pan sobao/sobado as Dominican breakfast bread and presents an enriched dough with milk, egg and butter, with a repeated rolling-and-folding method. It is distinct from the Puerto Rican poolish and lard/shortening formula recorded here.
Cited in: Puerto Rican pan sobao
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowFDA says raw flour can carry harmful bacteria, advises never tasting raw dough, and recommends washing hands and surfaces after handling flour.
Library of Congress / Boletín Mercantil de Puerto RicoHistorical research lead
Boletín Mercantil de Puerto Rico, 10 July 1913 — La Linda advertisementPublisher-indexed newspaper text dated 10 July 1913 advertises La Linda bakery in San Juan and offers bread named Sobao, Especial and Americano.
Direct PDF access returned 403 on this audit; no visual inspection claimed. This is evidence of a named bread being sold by one bakery, not its invention, formula or proof of equivalence to the current home recipe.