Portuguese Bread Rolls | Papo Secos

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My Portuguese Bread Rolls AKA Papo Secos are crusty on the outside with a light and airy interior. Perfect for sandwiches, dipping in a soup or spread with a generous curl of butter.

This is my take on traditional Portuguese Rolls. Easy to make whilst still delivering a delightful crust and a soft and fluffy inside.

I love the Portuguese crusty bread rolls from the local bakery in the Channel Islands. Every visit we have a few family BBQs and these include Portuguese crusty bread rolls.

Back home in Wales I set about recreating them, using the dough from my tried and trusted crusty farmhouse bread. After several tweaks to the shaping and baking I was very pleased with the results. Now we have our own Nando’s Garlic Bread too.

Traditionally, there is a long fermentation period when making Portuguese Rolls but I wanted to simplify the process. My recipe still gives the rolls an extra rise to keep them light and airy but I’ve tweaked their shaping. Once the rolls are shaped, I transfer them directly to a baking sheet.

My easy Portuguese Bread Rolls recipe makes 8 large or 12 standard crusty buns. Your bread is done and dusted in under 4 hours but that includes the dough rising and baking.

The secret to making the best Portuguese Bread Rolls involves flour and steam so you get an extra crispy crust. Dust your risen rolls with flour before baking and include an initial 10 minute blast of steam and heat. Introduce the steam using a cup of hot water in a preheated tin at the bottom of the oven. After this 10 minute blast at the beginning, bake as usual.

You may know by now that I love making bread. For me, the smell of freshly baked bread is something unique and special. And you really can’t beat homemade bread.

Portuguese Crusty Bread Rolls are a recent addition to our regular bread baking at The Kitchen Shed. But they are already much requested by friends and family alongside our Soft Bread Rolls, Tiger Bread and Multigrain Loaf.

What are Papo Secos ?

Papo Secos are Portuguese Bread Rolls. A favourite bread all over Portugal served in restaurants and homes alike.
The way in which their unique shape is formed makes these Portuguese Buns so light and airy. Balls of bread dough are flattened, a crease is made and then the dough is folded. Shaping the dough this way provides plenty of surface area which aerates the dough and delivers a fluffy bread.
Traditionally baked in a bread oven to give the rolls their crispy crust.

What equipment do I need ?

• I use my KitchenAid stand mixer to knead the dough. Simply add the ingredients and mix on a low speed. But don’t worry if you haven’t got a stand mixer. All you need is a bit of elbow grease and you can easily knead by hand.
• A large mixing bowl – I used my Pyrex bowl.
• A large baking tray or baking sheet lined with parchment paper
• A shallow baking tin to place in the bottom of the oven to receive a cup of hot water. This creates the beautiful crispy crust.

What ingredients do I need ?

You only need 6 ingredients to make this recipe.

• Bread Flour – I like to use Marriage’s Very Strong White Bread Flour, which is 100 % Canadian flour. This flour has the advantage of being high in protein and so produces more gluten. As a result, the dough holds together well but is also very elastic – perfect for making Portuguese Crusty Bread Rolls.
• Yeast – I’ve used instant yeast in the recipe, often called fast action or quick yeast. This yeast has the advantage that you can add it directly to your flour.
• Sugar – You need a small amount of white sugar to get the yeast activated. This is just the right amount without adding too much sweetness to the Papo Secos.
• Salt – I like to use sea salt as it contains less sodium than regular salt but any fine salt will work.
• Butter – I used softened unsalted butter
• Water – lukewarm water is best, that is, you should be able to comfortably dip your finger into your water. Cold water will work but it will take longer for the bread to rise.

REMEMBER – too high a temperature will kill your yeast and just like us, yeast works best at around 37°C / 98°F .

How to make Portuguese Bread Rolls | Papo Secos

For full instructions see the recipe card at the end of this post.

Make Your Dough

• I use my trusty KitchenAid stand mixer. All you have to do is add the ingredients and set on a slow speed for 10 minutes. Once the dough is smooth and elastic, check it using the window pane test.

• Equally, the dough can be hand mixed together in a bowl and then kneaded on a counter top. You will get the same results.

First prove

• Place your dough in a large greased bowl and cover.
• Leave to rest in a warm place for at least one and a half hours or until doubled in size.

Second Prove

• Take the bread dough out of the bowl and give it 3 gentle folds. Taking care not to deflate all the air in the doughPlace the dough back in the bowl, cover and prove again for another 30 minutes.

How To shape Portuguese Rolls

• Transfer the dough to an oiled work surface and stretch out into a log shape. Divide into 8 or 12 equal pieces.
• Shape each piece into a smooth ball by rolling in between the cup of your hand and the work surface.
• Place on a baking tray dusted with flour. Cover and leave for 10 minutes.

• Dust your work surface with flour and individually flatten each dough ball to form a circle.
• Use the side of your hand or a wooden spoon to press along the centre of each circle to make a deep crease.
• Pull each end of the crease and stretch the dough into an oval shape.
• Fold in half along the crease and twist the ends to a point.
• Place on a baking tray and press the points of each roll.
• Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes.

Baking Instructions

• Preheat oven to 240°C and place a shallow baking tin in the bottom of the oven. You add hot water to this tin when you put your rolls in to bake.
• Dust risen rolls with flour.

• Place your bread rolls in the oven and then quickly pour a cup of hot water into the baking tin. Gently close the oven door.

• Bake in the hot oven for 10 minutes.
• Turn your oven down to 220°C and continue baking until golden brown.

• Tip your rolls onto a cooling rack and tap the base of the bread to check it is cooked. It should sound hollow.

How to Serve

These crusty bread rolls are perfect for sandwich fillings, your favourite burger, pulled pork or served with a warming soup.

How to make Nando’s Garlic Bread

Ingredients

• Portuguese Bread Rolls cut in half horizontally
• Garlic Butter Topping – half clove garlic – crushed, 50 g salted butter and 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Instructions for Nando’s Garlic Bread

• Preheat oven to 220°C / 200°C fan / 425° °F / 400 °F fan.
• Melt the butter in a small pan on a low heat and add the crushed garlic. Continuing warming for one minute and remove from the heat.
• Add chopped parsley to your cooled butter and garlic and spread the cut faces of the bread rolls.
• Place on a lined baking tray cut faces up and bake for 6 to 8 minutes until golden brown.

How Long Do They Keep ?

Like most homemade bread, fresh is best but Portuguese Bread Rolls will keep for a couple of days.

Can I Freeze Them ?

These crusty bread rolls freeze well. Make sure your rolls are fully cooled and place in a freezer bag before freezing for up to three months.
I recommend baking from frozen for 5 minutes at 200°C. This way you’ll be enjoying crusty bread rolls almost as good as if they were freshly baked.

More Bread Recipes You Might Like….

Crusty Farmhouse Loaf
Naan Bread
Easy Pitta Bread

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