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Velhote is a traditional sweet bread dessert from Valadares, Portugal, made with cinnamon, saffron, lemon juice, eggs, sugar, baking powder, and flour. It was created by Maria Francisca da Silva in the 1880s and is often served on weekends and during festivals. The recipe has undergone variations over time, and it can be eaten as a sweet bread or used as an ingredient in other dishes.
Portuguese desserts include many rich and highly flavorful sweet and yeast breads. Cinnamon, saffron and vanilla are used extensively in these types of desserts; these ingredients are not native to Portugal, but were introduced when the country was an imperialist power and have since become a mainstay of traditional cuisine. Most of these breads were first created in monasteries and then became popular in the surrounding regions. Velhote is one such bread dessert, and originated in the civil parish of Valadares in the city of Vila Nova de Gaia, in the Porto district of Portugal. A lady from Braga, Maria Francisca da Silva, is credited with creating the velhote sweet bread in the 1880s.
While velhote can be eaten anytime, it has traditionally been served on weekends in Valadares. It was also specially cooked during the parish’s most important festival, the Festa del Cruzeiro do Senhor dos Aflitos or Cross of the Lord of the Afflicted. Sweet bread was served to visiting royalty as an example of the best cuisine in the region.
Maria Francisca da Silva’s recipe for velhote sweet bread was quite simple and used cinnamon, saffron, lemon juice, eggs, sugar, baking powder and flour. Since then the recipe has undergone variations, both in the ingredients used and in the method of cooking the bread. Nowadays there may be different versions of velhote breads.
To make velhote, the yeast and sugar are dissolved in warm water and the mixture set aside. The next butter is melted in a pan of hot milk, the mixture is brought to a boil and then allowed to cool. The sugar and eggs are beaten together and the yeast solution is added, along with the flour, salt and butter. The mixture is mixed and kneaded until a smooth and soft dough is obtained. The dough is covered with a damp towel and set aside to rise.
After the dough has doubled in size, it is cooked in the oven at a high temperature. For festive occasions, a hard-boiled or soft-boiled egg is pressed into the center of the dough before it is cooked. The egg, half cooked, cooks with the sweet bread as it cooks.
Velhote bread is baked until light brown in color. It can be eaten directly as a sweet bread, or it can be toasted and buttered before serving. It can also be used as a starting ingredient for various bread dishes.
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