Pan de Jamón

Medium·40 min

A soft, slightly sweet enriched bread rolled around a spiral of ham, green olives, and raisins. The hallmark loaf of the Venezuelan Christmas table, sliced to reveal its salty-sweet pinwheel.

Egg

Created in December 1905 by Caracas baker Gustavo Ramella; the olive-and-raisin filling was added by the 1920s and it became a fixture of Venezuelan Christmas.

The crumb is pillowy and faintly sweet, wrapping a savory coil of cured ham streaked with bursts of briny olive and sweet, plump raisin. Warm from the oven, it smells of butter and smoke. Every slice balances soft bread against salty, sweet, and tangy in one mouthful.

Eggs and butter enrich the dough, coating gluten strands so the crumb stays tender and soft. Rolling the filling into a tight spiral lets each slice carry ham, olive, and raisin together, while the egg wash sets into a shiny, browned crust via the Maillard reaction.

Variations

Versions with bacon or smoked turkey, additions of capers or walnuts, puff-pastry shortcut versions, cream cheese added to the filling

On the Palate

Where Pan de Jamón sits in the Venezuelan flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 8

4 cupsBread Flour

1 cup, warmMilk

2 tspActive Dry Yeast

How it's made

8 steps · 40 min

1
8 min
Bloom yeast in warm milk with a pinch of sugar until foamy, about 8 minutes.
Watch out
The milk should froth and smell yeasty within a few minutes — if it stays flat the yeast is dead and the dough won't rise.
2
15 min
Knead flour, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, and the yeast mixture into a smooth, elastic dough.
3
90 min
Cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1.5 hours.
4
6 min
Roll the dough into a large rectangle and lay ham slices over it edge to edge.
5
8 min
Scatter green olives, raisins, and a little brown sugar across the ham, then roll up tightly into a log.
Watch out
Roll it up tight with no air gaps so each slice shows a clean ham-and-olive spiral instead of falling open.
6
4 min
Seal the seam, brush with beaten egg, and prick the top to vent steam.
Watch out
Prick the top to vent steam or the loaf balloons and splits along the seam as it bakes.
7
33 min
Bake at 180C (350F) for 30-35 minutes until deeply golden and glossy.
Watch out
Bake until the crust is deep gold and glossy from the egg wash — a pale top means the crumb is still raw inside.
8
6 min
Cool slightly, then slice to show the ham-and-olive spiral.