Hawai'i

MUNCHIES [HI] . Punalu’u Sweet Bread

by Kris   ⋅   May 5, 2006   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

Tucked away in the teeny tiny little town of Punalu’u in the Southeastern crook (Ka’u district) of the Big Island of Hawai’i, you will find the longest sweet bread loaf from the southernmost bakery in the entire US. To be honest, driving through Punalu’u is no picnic. There’s a long winding stretch of nothing road to get to this town that has a church every 10 yards. Believe me, noone drives to Punalu’u, just through it. Thank god they sell it at supermarkets like KTA in Hilo. But one good reason to stop there is their bakery. I was blown away by their glorious graphic redesign (remember, this is the tiniest rural town ever) and I’d stop there just for the signage alone. Their website is pretty spiffy too.

Punalu’u Bake Shop’s fluffy soft, subtly sweet Portugese pao doce is fragrant and squishy; you’ll definitely need to bust out a bread knife to slice yourself some extra thick pieces. This is the one time when you’ll be thankful the loaf isn’t pre-sliced. Punalu’u Sweet Bread is amazing when lightly toasted with lots of butter, as well as straight out of the bag “raw”. Don’t you dare drown the delicate flavor and aroma with lots of jams or jellies. That’s just unnecessary. You can also make awesome powdered french toast with it, but I prefer a more substantial weight bread for that.

Because the loaves are cut away from their neighbors lengthwise like conjoined twins’ surgery, it’s perfect for “crust evaders”. I personally think the heel is the best part of bread, and King’s Hawaiian Sweet Bread is tops in that respect because theirs is a round loaf baked in a pie tin (or all crust woohoo), but Punalu’u Sweet Bread has a lighter texture and taste. It also comes in Guava, Taro, Cinnamon Raisin Macadamia Nut. The 24 oz loaf that’s as long as your arm will feed a small family of five for breakfast for a week, or a binge eater a couple of days. Some people freeze half and eat it later, although it’s never lasted that long in our house when I’m at home. See how long it lasts in your household.

About the Author:

Kris Kobayashi-Nelson is an avid food adventurist who has tried everything from jellyfish to sea cucumber to chicken gizzards. She actually has never tried the *other* kind of sweetbreads, but believes she would prefer the baked variety.