We recently relocated to Virginia and this is where we met our dear friends, the Caudills. They are such wonderful people. Our husbands work together, our dogs love each other and they don’t mind taste testing my recipes. We really enjoy spending time with them and I wanted to make them something special for dessert this week. They were both born in Honduras, so I started researching some classic Honduran treats and discovered the semita.
A semita is a sweet bread covered in a sugary cookie topping that is often enjoyed with a cup of coffee for breakfast or with a glass of milk as an afternoon snack or perhaps between a bowl of lemon garlic bucatini and a rousing board game. If that last option sounded a little specific, it is because this is exactly when I planned to share my hopefully successful surprise with our friends. So after much research, some time translating ingredients from Spanish to English and a quick trip to acquire said ingredients, I was ready to get started.
I chose the recipe that made the most sense to me as a baker. Since I have no experience baking or even eating semitas, I just wanted a recipe that seemed workable and I decided to go with a combination of two different recipes and they turned out exactly how I was hoping they would! The sweet bread layer was light and puffy with just a hint of sweetness and the topping was crispy and sugary.
Fast forward a couple of hours and to my great relief, they were a success with our friends! I loved surprising them both with something that they enjoyed as children and I also loved that there were a few left the next morning. I really enjoyed learning about semitas and found them to be delicious. I trust you will feel the same! Lets get this recipe started…
This recipe is simple and complicated. I would not consider it advanced, but you do need to follow each step in order to ensure a successful outcome. There are few things to do before getting started. First, cut 7 tablespoons of butter into quarter cubes. I highly suggest doing this with cold butter. It is much easier to cut cold butter than softened butter! Just cut the stick longways keeping the halves together and then flip it over to the uncut side and cut that half longwise and then cut into cubes by cutting the stick shortwise.
You will need the cubed butter to come to room temperature, so you may want to do this a few hours before starting the recipe. The next step will be gathering the rest of your ingredients. Weigh them out in advance, because this recipe comes together really quickly. I would suggest sifting the flour you use for this recipe, so that your dough comes out smooth. 480 grams of flour is approximately 4 cups, but the weight of 4 cups can vary depending on if you scoop the flour with your measuring cup or spoon fill your cups, so I would weight it just to be sure you use the right amount. This recipe uses fast acting active dry yeast, which is different that the regular active dry yeast that we use for most recipes. It is sold right next to the other stuff though, so it won’t be tough to find.
So this recipe starts unlike most bread recipes that I am familiar with. You will add all of your sifted flour, salt, yeast, eggs, vanilla extract, milk and water into the bowl of your stand mixer with a dough hook attached. Mix on low for about 4 minutes and then increase the speed to medium for another few minutes. Your dough should begin coming together within 6-7 minutes of mixing. Once this happens, slowly add the granulated sugar about a tablespoon at a time until it is all fully incorporated into the dough. This step should take about 2 minutes.
While your dough is rising, begin preparing the topping layer by placing the flour, confectioners sugar and shortening into the bowl of your stand mixer and mixing on medium low with a paddle attachment until it resembles a thick sugar cookie dough.
Instead of rolling this dough out, I scooped out about 1 1/2 tablespoons and rolled it into a ball with clean hands. Then I set the ball towards the bottom half of a sheet of parchment paper about 18″ long. Fold the paper in half covering the ball of dough. Press the ball though the paper with the palm of your hand then roll it into a disk about 4-5 inches across between the paper.
Repeat this until you have used all of the dough. Remember, you still haven’t divided your bread dough yet, so you can divide the bread dough into the same number of topping disks that you made. I made 10 fairly large semitas, but you can absolutely make a larger number of smaller semitas… or maybe a couple of larges, mediums and smalls. Its your choice. Have fun with it!
Once your bread dough has doubled in size, transfer it to a floured surface and divide it into the number and size you want. They will be completely a second rise and also puff up a bit during baking, so consider this while dividing them. I would shoot for somewhere between 10-16 pieces. Once the dough is divided, roll each piece into a ball by tucking the sides of the dough up underneath itself a few times. Once you have a smooth ball, place it on a parchment lined sheet.
Gently press each dough ball down to slightly flatten it into more of a disk than a ball. Then transfer one of your cookie dough sheets over the top of each dough ball and trim any excess from the sides with pastry scissors or a sharp knife. Be gentle when adding the cookie dough topping onto the bread dough. You don’t need to press it at all, just let it lay over the top. Once they have all been applied and trimmed, score the tops using a sharp knife. Don’t cut through the cookie dough, just gently score the top.
I scored half of my tops into a seashell pattern and the other half into diagonal crossing lines. Once the have all been scored, cover them with a clean kitchen towel and allow them to rise in a warm place for 90-120 minutes. Each semita should double in size and you will see the score marks in the topping begin to spread out a bit.
Once they are ready, bake in a 350 degree oven for about 14 minutes. If you carefully pick one up and the bottom is slightly golden, they are ready!
Let them cool on a cooling rack while you make a pot of coffee to sip as you enjoy your beautiful freshly made Honduran semitas…
Honduran Semitas
Ingredients
Sweet Bread Layer
- 480 grams all purpose flour, sifted
- 60 grams whole milk
- 60 grams water
- 2 large eggs
- 7 tablespoons butter, cubed, room temperature
- 6 grams salt
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 1/4 ounce rapid rise yeast
- 5 grams vanilla extract
Crunchy Cookie Topping
- 145 grams all purpose flour, sifted
- 3/4 cup shortening, room temperature
- 145 grams confectioners sugar
Instructions
Sweet Bread Layer
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sifted flour, salt, yeast, milk, water, eggs and vanilla extract
- Mix with a dough hook on low speed until the dough begins to come together
- Increase the speed to medium and add the granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it is all fully incorporated
- Add the butter, several cubes at a time, until the butter is all fully incorporated
- Mix on medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic to the touch
- Transfer the dough into a large oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until it has doubled in size
Crunchy Cookie Topping
- While the dough is rising, place the topping ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix using the paddle attachment on medium low speed until it resembles a thick sugar cookie dough
- Form 1 1/2 tablespoon balls and gently press and roll between sheets of parchment paper into a 4-5" disk and set aside
Assembly
- Once the dough has doubled in size, transfer onto a floured surface and divide into equal parts (approximately 10 large, 13 medium or 16 small)
- Form each piece into a ball by turning the sides under several times and then place them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Press them down softly into a disk shape, but don't flatten too much
- Cover each dough ball with a rolled out sheet of your crunchy cookie topping and trim the excess with a sharp knife
- Gently score the tops of each semita with a sharp knife being careful not to cut all the way through the cookie dough topping
- Cover lightly with a kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 90-120 minutes or until each semita has doubled in size
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Bake each sheet on the middle rack for about 14 minutes or until the bottom of the semitas have turned slightly golden brown
- Allow to cool on a cooling rack
- Store in an airtight container
