Hawaiian Bread

If you’re looking for a technical kitchen project to show off your baking skills, try this Hawaiian bread recipe. You’ll need to reserve a few hours to make the loaves, but they’re well worth the effort! Each loaf has a shiny, golden-brown crust and a subtly sweet, tender crumb. It tastes fantastic sliced for sandwiches or sweet breakfast dishes like French toast.

This Hawaiian sweet bread recipe makes three loaves, but don’t worry about it being too much. If the bread starts to get stale, there are plenty of delicious ways to use leftover bread—if it even lasts that long.

Hawaiian Bread Ingredients

• Dry ingredients: We whisk together all-purpose flour, mashed potato flakes, sugar, salt and ground ginger to form the base of the Hawaiian bread dough.
• Active dry yeast: We gently mix active dry yeast with 110° to 115°F water to proof the yeast, waking it up so it helps the bread rise.
• Wet ingredients: The yeast mixture combines with melted butter, pineapple juice, room-temperature eggs, vanilla and milk. This wet mixture hydrates and flavors the Hawaiian bread dough.

Directions

Step 1: Proof the yeast

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water and let it stand until bubbles form on the surface, about five minutes.

Step 2: Prepare the butter mixture

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Add the pineapple juice and milk, and continue to heat gently until the mixture reaches 110° to 115°.

Step 3: Mix the dough

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, potato flakes, sugar, salt and ginger. Add the yeast and butter mixtures to the dry ingredients and beat until just moistened. Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough—it will be a bit sticky.

Step 4: Knead the dough

Turn the dough onto a floured surface. With floured hands, knead the dough until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes, adding more flour to the surface and your hands as needed.

Step 5: Let the dough rise

Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Step 6: Shape and let rise

Punch the dough down. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into thirds. Shape each into a ball. Place the dough in three greased 9-inch round baking pans lined with parchment. Cover and let the dough rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Step 7: Bake the dough

Preheat the oven to 350°. Bake the bread until it turns golden brown and the internal temperature of the loaves reaches 200°, 30 to 35 minutes. If needed, cover the bread loosely with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent the tops from overbrowning. Remove the bread from the pans and cool on wire racks.

Hawaiian Bread Variations

• Add an egg wash: To give the bread an even more golden brown sheen, use an egg wash. In a small bowl, whisk an egg with 1 teaspoon water. Brush the mixture over the dough with a pastry brush before baking the loaves.
• Sprinkle herbs on top: Our recipe for Hawaiian sweet bread is relatively simple, but you can give the loves a decorative finish by sprinkling the unbaked dough with minced parsley, rosemary or thyme.
• Add cheese: Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top of the loaves before baking to create a cheesy crust.

How to Store Hawaiian Bread

Let your Hawaiian bread loaves cool completely before storing them. A bread box is the best way to store bread so it stays fresh, but a plastic bag also works. Store the bread at room temperature, as the refrigerator can dry out homemade bread.

How long does Hawaiian bread last?

Homemade Hawaiian bread doesn’t have any preservatives, so it only lasts up to five days when stored at room temperature. If you haven’t finished the bread in time, you can freeze bread for up to three months.

How do you freeze Hawaiian bread?

If you have extra slices of Hawaiian bread, wrap a few slices together in storage wrap. Then, wrap them again in foil or freezer paper for added freshness. Freeze the wrapped bread for up to three months. When you’re ready to eat them, simply take them out and reheat them from frozen in a 350° oven.

Hawaiian Bread Tips

Why is it called Hawaiian bread?

As the name indicates, Hawaiian bread originated in Hawaii. Robert Taira created this sweet bread recipe in his bakery in the 1950s. The business was later renamed King’s Baker, and thus, King’s Hawaiian Rolls were born.

What is the best way to knead Hawaiian bread dough?

The best way to knead Hawaiian bread dough is by hand, but you can also knead dough with a stand mixer. Unsure if your dough is ready? Gently poking the dough with your finger is the best way to tell if bread dough is kneaded enough. The dough should feel smooth and spring back to its original shape.

What do you eat with this Hawaiian bread recipe?

You can serve Hawaiian bread with the best Hawaiian recipes like huli huli chicken. You can also form the dough into smaller balls to make Hawaiian dinner rolls, which can be sliced in half and used for slider recipes.