King's Hawaiian Bread

I see this stuff heavily advertised starting at Thanksgiving through Christmas. Big loaves or dinner rolls-it is all on sale. Is this a holiday tradition? What makes this bread Hawaiian? Is the bread sold countrywide or is this a region thing?

Hi,

I cannot advise much beyond this comment from Jay K:

Also don't miss out on the Hawaiian-made Hawaiian sweetbread (interestingly enough they don't carry King's Hawaiian bread in Hawaii).

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

I cannot advise much beyond this comment from Jay K:

Also don't miss out on the Hawaiian-made Hawaiian sweetbread (interestingly enough they don't carry King's Hawaiian bread in Hawaii).

Regards,

I was first introduced to it when living in Maryland, and I've driven past their bakery in Torrance, CA, so it's not a regional product.

Elfin wrote:I see this stuff heavily advertised starting at Thanksgiving through Christmas. Big loaves or dinner rolls-it is all on sale. Is this a holiday tradition? What makes this bread Hawaiian? Is the bread sold countrywide or is this a region thing?

It's countrywide, and pineapple juice makes it Hawaiian (colors and sweetens). It's originally a Portuguese recipe.

Dominick's carries it year-round. The small packs of 4 rolls keep fresh for a long time and are frequently 75 cents, making them a good deal for the lunchbox.

Having it promoted for the holidays is largely a function of dips people make out of the larger loaves for entertaining - scoop out the middle, fill with spinach or dill dip or hummus or poi, eat with shredded bread from the middle and exterior.

Santander wrote:It's countrywide, and pineapple juice makes it Hawaiian (colors and sweetens).

I think that used to be the case. Today it's just sugar, corn syrup, and beta carotene for color.

eatchicago wrote:

Santander wrote:It's countrywide, and pineapple juice makes it Hawaiian (colors and sweetens).

I think that used to be the case. Today it's just sugar, corn syrup, and beta carotene for color.

Wow, is that sad but true. This is just sobering:

http://www.kingshawaiian.com/products/p ... dients.php

Every other recipe I can find out there for Hawaiian bread calls for pineapple juice, and certainly loaves made in the islands must still use it - I had some fresh from a bakery in Kauai that also had a lovely ginger flavor, and my favorite Puka Dogs are served on pineapple-sweetened buns. Must not travel well. The current King's Hawaiian product is still quite tasty and my go-to for little sandwiches of many types.

Standard Portuguese sweet bread doesn't call for pineapple juice, so perhaps KH is just honoring the original recipe, but I'd say pineapple (the local sweetener in Brazil and eventually Hawaii, by the early 1800s) is certainly preferable to HFCS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_sweet_bread

Anyone familiar with how it's made in the Northeast US, please enlighten us (are there any non-commercial bakeries that have this on hand? For that matter, any bakeries in Chicago make Portuguese sweet bread?)

eatchicago wrote:

Santander wrote:It's countrywide, and pineapple juice makes it Hawaiian (colors and sweetens).

I think that used to be the case. Today it's just sugar, corn syrup, and beta carotene for color.

A loaf of this ended up at my house for the holidays. I have fond memories of it as being a somewhat hardy bread, with a nice touch of sweetness from the pineapple. This bread used to be a real favorite for french toast. Unfortunately, the current configuration of this bread would be hard to distinguish from Wonder Bread, other than the fact that it is round. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Rosen's used to make a version of Hawaiian bread that I always found to be superior in both flavor and texture. I'm not sure if it is still being made, but it might be worth a look as a better alternative.

I've never much liked it. I think it might be good for toast and french toast but not much else. To me its glorified wonder bread disguised in another form.

But speaking of Portuguese sweet bread, that really is one of the foods of the gods. I fell in love with it in Providence, RI, when I was in college-- the bakers used to sell it in the evenings in the dorms. Anywhere to buy it in the Chicago area that anyone knows of???

Growing up my grandmother would always have the rolls at Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Recently we started buying them for our dinners and still like them.
We also serve the rolls with vegetable spinach dip for dipping.

I'll weigh in in favor of King's Hawaiian bread, but possibly only because I've never had any other version. I kind of think of it as Hawaiian challah, due more to its appearance and consistency than taste. Since it's been established as a pretty artificial product, I think it goes well with other artificial products, this bread is my choice for a processed bologna sandwich. As to the Wonderbread comparison-- texture wise this bread is denser and moister. When you pull it (unsliced) apart, it often comes off in delectable strands, whereas Wonderbread might as well be perforated (sp?). The mini rolls are a fantastic size for improvised lunchtime/snacktime sandwich sliders. I like not having to commit myself to an entire, or even half, of a sandwich if I just ran to the store and a have a bunch of sandwich fixings available.