Cachitos (Venezuelan Ham Rolls)
Soft, buttery crescent rolls rolled around diced smoked ham, the classic breakfast of every Venezuelan bakery.
Method
Warm the milk in a small pan on low heat for , until it feels just warm on your wrist (about 37 °C). Take it off the heat, stir in the sugar and yeast and leave for 5 minutes. Don't let it get hot; heat kills yeast.
Add in this stepMilk 150 mlWhite sugar 30 gInstant dry yeast 3 g
low heatMix the flour and salt in a large bowl, pour in the milk and stir with a spatula until it comes together. Turn it out and knead for 5 minutes, then add the soft butter a little at a time and knead for more. It will be slippery at first but becomes smooth and springy. It is ready when a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through without tearing.
Add in this stepBread flour 250 gSalt ½ tspUnsalted butter, softened 40 g
Shape the dough into a ball, put it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm for , until doubled and a poked finger hole fills back slowly.
Press out the air and divide the dough into 6 equal pieces, round them and rest for 5 minutes. Roll each into a long triangle about 12 cm wide at the base and 20 cm long. Lay a line of ham along the wide end, roll up firmly towards the point, set it point-side down and bend the ends slightly into a crescent. Place them 5 cm apart on a tray lined with baking paper.
Add in this stepSmoked ham, cut into 5 mm dice 150 g
Cover loosely with a cloth or cling film and leave for to rise again until 1.5 times the size. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180 °C.
ovenBeat the egg and brush a thin layer over the tops. Bake in the oven for . The number of trays is 1×; with 2×, bake on two shelves and swap them halfway. They are done when deep golden on top and they sound hollow when tapped underneath.
Add in this stepEgg (for brushing) 1
ovenCool on a rack for 10 minutes and eat warm. In Venezuela they are breakfast with a coffee or a glass of milk.
Cook's tip
Adding a little chopped bacon to the ham tastes even more like a bakery cachito. Keep leftovers sealed at room temperature and refresh them in a 160 °C oven for 5 minutes. If the dough is very sticky, rest it for 5 minutes and knead again rather than adding lots of flour.
Cooking it at camp
Yeast dough needs rising time and an oven, so it is hard to make from scratch at a campsite. Bake them at home, wrap in foil in the morning and warm on the grill or in a covered pan on low heat for 5–8 minutes. To bake on site, use a Dutch oven lined with baking paper with coals underneath and on the lid.