Ham cachitos are one of the most popular breakfasts in Venezuela. You can find cachitos in almost any bakery.
This is a sweet and soft bread filled with smoky ham and bacon. It’s one of my favorite breakfasts of all time.
Now that I live outside Venezuela I’ve found this recipe to be the perfect recreation of my beloved morning cachitos.
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How to make the bread dough
The bread of a good cachito is where the magic happens. It must be soft, bouncy, mildly sweet and with a slightly brown outside. It’s not a crusty bread.
This dough is quite easy to make. It is like a mix of tequeños dough and rustic bread dough.
It must be an elastic dough because it needs to wrap in a croissant shape without breaking. If you’ve ever made bread you know that elasticity comes from fat. So, yes, this dough will require some melted butter to get elasticity and resistance.
The ingredients for the bread
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 gr (1 tsp) yeast
- ½ cup whole milk (warm)
- 2 tbsp water
- ¼ cup of sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (melted)
An important thing when making bread is the order in which you add the ingredients. The second most important advice is to be patient. Letting the dough grow will give you a fluffy and soft bread.
The worst enemy of a novice baker is their impatience.
The beginning of any bread recipe is to activate the yeast.
For this recipe, I use 4gr of instant yeast with ½ cup milk, 2 tbsp water, ¼ cup sugar and 2 tbsp of flour.
The milk must be warm (I set 20 seconds in the microwave). This will help the yeast grow but if it’s too hot it will kill it.
The sugar is the food for the yeast.
I stir all the ingredients and let it rest for 3- 5 minutes. You will start to notice some bubbling and the formation of thick foam. This means that the yeast is alive and ready to use.
Then, add this yeast mix into the rest of the flour and add the egg. Beat the dough using a stand mixer or your hands.
Once you get a homogeneous dough — at this point it will be a bit lumpy but don’t worry —- add the butter and the salt. Adding the butter and the salt, at last, will avoid killing the yeast.
Beat until you get a soft and homogeneous dough.
Transfer to a clean surface with a bit of flour on top. Knead for a couple of minutes until you get a soft and bouncy ball of dough. Gently, stick your finger into the surface of the dough and see if it bounces back (like in the pictures).
Grease a bowl with a bit of butter and put the ball of dough in it. Wrap it with plastic wrap and let it rest for 2 hours in a warm place (like the oven).
Wrapping the cachitos
This step can be a bit tricky, but if the dough is elastic and soft the wrapping process will be way easier.
The first thing to do is to take the ball of dough out of the bowl. Just turn the bowl upside down over a clean surface and let the ball fall without touching it. This way, the ball will fall into a perfect circular shape.
Flatten the ball into a flat circle and cut it like a pizza into 8 same-size pieces.
Now, take one of the triangles and facing the flat side towards you, stretch all the tips of the triangles. Especially the tip at the center. It must be long enough to wrap the entire cachito with it. That’s why it is so important to use enough fat in the dough. It makes it resistant and elastic.
Add 3-4 tbsp approximately of ham and bacon filling. Cover with the two lateral tips. Start rolling and wrapping the cachito to form a cylinder. Keep wrapping the cachito with the longer tip at the center. Wrapping it like a croissant.
Finally, I brush an egg wash with a bit of sugar for that shiny light brown exterior.
Bake for 15 minutes at 180ºC (350ºF) and they are done!
I love to eat them warm right out the oven with a big cup of café con leche.
Other Venezuelan recipes
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 gr 1 tsp yeast
- ½ cup whole milk warm
- 2 tbsp water
- ¼ cup of sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 150 gr smoked ham sliced
- 100 gr bacon sliced
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
- ½ tbsp sugar
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In a small bowl, add the milk, water, sugar, yeast, and 1 tbsp of flour. The milk must be warm for the yeast to activate. Stir to mix and let it sit for 5 minutes. The yeast will grow and start bubbling.
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In a big bowl, add the flour with the previous yeast mix and the egg. Beat the dough using a stand mixer or your hands. Beat for a couple of minutes until you get a homogeneous and sticky dough. Add the melted butter and the salt. Beat for 2 – 4 minutes until you get a homogeneous dough.
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Put the dough on a clean surface with a bit of flour. Knead the dough to activate the gluten. Knead for 3-5 minutes until you get a soft and bouncy ball of dough (like the one in the pictures). Grease a bowl with a bit of butter and let the ball of dough rest in there. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 2 hours in a warm place. I let it in the oven turned off.
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Cut the smoked ham and the bacon slices into small pieces (like in the pictures). Mix in one bowl.
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Dump the dough directly into a clean surface. Let gravity do its job and release the dough without touching it. This way, it will be a perfect ball. Flatten the dough to form a perfect circle.
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Using a pizza cutter or a knife, cut the circle into 8 triangles (like in the pictures).
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Stretch the tips of the triangles. Add some ham and bacon in the center and fold the side tips into the center (see the pictures). Wrap the cachito covering the stuffing with the longest middle point (see the pictures) Wrap until you get a croissant shaped cachito.
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Mix all the ingredients for the egg wash. With a brush cover the surface of the cachitos with the egg mixture.
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Take the cachito to the oven at 180ºC (350ºF) for 15 – 20 minutes until the cachitos are slightly brown.
I’m Maria and I love cooking—and mostly EATING—food from all around the world. I’ve been sharing my abuela’s secret Latin-American recipes for the last 7 years with the world on this blog. I’ve been a full-time food blogger for many years and I’m always trying new delicious meals that don’t require a culinary degree or a Michelin-star chef. I also love traveling, cats, and knitting.