Instructions: Dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 3 tablespoons warm water in a large mixing bowl. When mixture foams (about 5-10 minutes), stir in remaining water, sugar, the oil and all but 1 tablespoon of the beaten eggs.

Beat the remaining egg with a pinch of salt to make egg glaze and store in refrigerator until needed.

Stir the 2 tablespoons salt and the flour, 1 cup at a time, into the liquid ingredients, to obtain a dough that is stiff enough to pull away from the sides of the bowl, but soft enough to knead. The dough can also be kneaded in a mixer fitted with a dough hook or in a food processor with the dough blade.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, 6 to 8 minutes, adding flour as necessary to obtain a soft dough that is pliable but not sticky. It will be a little moister than regular bread dough.

Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise in warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk- 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Punch down.

Form the rolls, dividing into 12 equal pieces. Roll each on the work surface with the palm of your hand to form a tube 5 inches long with tapered ends. Transfer the rolls to a lightly greased baking sheet leaving 3 inches between each.

Cover with a dampened cotton dish towel and let rise in warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. You can let them rise in the refrigerator if you want, but it will take 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350F

Brush the rolls with the reserved egg glaze and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until golden brown and hollow sounding when lightly tapped, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter. Serve warm or cool to room temperature on a wire rack.

(**) I dont remember ever using sesame seeds on ours.

NOTES : We Cubans also make Pan Dulce, except it is usually called Pan Suave. You can find it in most Cuban Bakeries and its the bread roll used for the Cuban Medianoche Sandwich. There are some "Pan Duce" recipes for Portuguese Sweet Bread also.

I live in Hawaii, where there is a large concentration of Portuguese who came to the Islands about a 100 years ago to work in the sugar cane fields. Sometimes their Pan Duce (pronounced deuce) is called Hawaiian Bread here.

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