Venezuelan Ham Crescents Recipes

EASY VENEZUELAN HAM CACHITOS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Open the can of crescent rolls and separate the dough according to the instructions on the package.
• Place 1-2 tablespoons of the cut ham in the widest part of the triangle. Fold the corners over the ham. Roll the dough, beginning from the widest part that has the ham and ending at the tip. Fold down the sides if necessary and place on the baking sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining pieces of dough.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crescent rolls are golden. Remove from oven and brush with melted butter. Serve.

PAN DE JAMON (VENEZUELAN HAM BREAD)

Steps:

• In a medium bowl mix the warm water and 1 Tbsp sugar, until the sugar dissolves. Sprinkle the yeast over top and set aside for 5-10 minutes, until the yeast is softened and slightly foamy.
• Place 3 cups of flour in a large bowl along with the remaining 3 Tbsp sugar and salt. Mix to combine.
• Stir the yeast mixture and add it to the flour. Add the milk, beaten eggs, and butter. Mix until combined.
• Continue adding the remaining cup of flour until a soft dough comes together.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is soft and smooth, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the counter or your hands.
• Place the dough in a clean, greased bowl. Cover it with a damp tea towel and let it rest in a warm, draft free place until doubled (generally 1-2 hours).
• Once the dough has risen, lightly dust your counter with flour and roll the dough out into a rectangle, roughly a ½ inch thick (10x15 inches).
• Cover the dough with the ham slices, arranging them almost to the edges. Sprinkle the raisins and olives over the ham.
• Once the fillings have been layered over the dough, tightly roll the dough up from the long edge. Tuck the edges under the roll and place it, seam side down on a greased baking sheet.
• Brush the loaf well with an egg wash of 1 egg white beaten with 1 Tbsp water.
• Let the dough rise, uncovered, in a warm, draft free place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until very puffy.
• Near the end of this final rising time, preheat your oven to 375F.
• Bake the bread for 25-27 minutes, until the loaf starts to turn golden brown. Then, loosely tent the bread with aluminum foil (to keep it from browning too much) and continue baking for an additional 15 minutes. (It will bake around 40 minutes in total.) When finished, the loaf should feel firm when tapped. The internal temperature of the loaf should be 180-190F.
• Remove the bread from the oven. Let it cool on the pan for 10-15 minutes before carefully transferring it to a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
• The bread will keep in an air tight container in the refrigerator for 1 week.

PAN DE JAMóN (VENEZUELAN HAM BREAD)

Steps:

• Make the bread: In a small pot over medium-low heat, scald milk. When milk is near boiling and bubbles form around the edge of the pot, remove from heat and let cool.
• In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup warm water and 2 tablespoons sugar and mix well. Add yeast and let rest for 5 minutes or until bubbly.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, the rest of the sugar and the salt on medium-low speed just to combine. With mixer running, add eggs, cooled scalded milk and yeast mixture. Mix on medium speed until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes.
• Place flours in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Change out the stand mixer attachment for a dough hook and slowly add flours to butter mixture about 1/2 cup at a time, until fully incorporated. The dough should pull away from the bowl's edges relatively cleanly. Let rest in bowl for about 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle all-purpose flour on a clean work surface. Scrape out dough and knead for 5 minutes. If dough is too sticky to handle, add a little more flour, but do not let it get too dry. Cut dough into 2 pieces.
• Roll each piece of dough with heavy rolling pin into a 15-by-20-inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Using a small offset spatula or butter knife, spread about 3 tablespoons butter in a thin layer over the top of the dough, just enough to cover.
• Fold dough into thirds like a letter: With the short end of the dough facing you, fold up from the bottom, and then fold down from the top. Then, take the letter-shaped dough and fold one more time lengthwise, making a small square.
• Wrap each of the pieces in plastic or place each one in a plastic bag and let them rest in the refrigerator for about 4 hours. Repeat process of rolling, buttering, folding and refrigerating 2 more times with both pieces of dough. This will take a total of 12 hours, but additional chilling time between rollings is O.K., allowing you to break up the process overnight. (For instance, the first rolling can be done the night before, followed by subsequent rollings the next day.)
• Remove dough from refrigerator and divide each piece into 2 equal sections, for 4 pieces of dough in total. Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll one piece into a thin 15-by-20-inch rectangle, rewrapping in plastic and returning the other pieces to the refrigerator.
• Fill the bread: Working lengthwise, put down a stripe of ham strips in a single layer. Below that place a stripe of bacon strips and below that, a sparse stripe of raisins and olives. (Make sure to use a light hand with the raisins and olives.) Repeat this pattern until the surface of the dough is covered.
• Take one of the short edges of the dough, and carefully roll it up, like a jelly roll, tucking it in as you go to make sure it is tight. When it is fully rolled, tuck the open edges on either side underneath the roll, and place the whole roll seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet so it doesn't pop open while baking. Repeat rolling-and-filling process with the other 3 pieces of dough. Place loaves on 2 baking sheets lined with parchment, 2 to a sheet. Cover loaves with a clean dish towel and let rise for 45 minutes.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 2 loaves at a time for about 40 minutes, checking to make sure tops are becoming golden without burning. If loaves are browning too quickly, tent with foil.
• Prepare the glaze: While the bread bakes, add milk and sugar to a small bowl and stir to dissolve.
• At the 40-minute mark, pull the loaves out of the oven, and, using a pastry brush, glaze their tops. Bake for another 5 minutes, until the loaves have a slight sheen and are deep golden brown in color. Remove from oven and let bread rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

CACHITOS DE JAMON (HAM CRESCENT ROLLS)

Steps:

• Activate yeast.
• In a large glass bowl mix sugar, salt oil, milk and flour. Knead until mixed. Add the egg and continue kneading, adding the yeast last.
• Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place for two hours.
• Knead the dough again, and then divide it in half. Working with one half at a time, roll into a 10" circle. Cut the flattened dough into 8 triangles. Place ham in the widest part of each triangle. Then roll from the wide end to make a crescent. Place on a cookie sheet.
• Cover the rolls with plastic and let rise for one hour in a warm place. Pre-heat oven to 350-375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Brush melted butter on each roll and bake 15 minutes or until they are light golden. Remove and brush with egg white. Return them to the oven until they are golden brown.