Pao doce (Hawaiian and Portuguese sweet bread)

This is the basic Portuguese while fluffy bread, which the Portuguese have exported into numerous areas in their age of discovery, where it blended with local cuisine influences and was morphed into new forms. One such form is the lovely Japanese Shokupan.
The original Portuguese pao doce ("pao" means bread and "doce" means sweet) remained in its original form only in Portuguese and Hawaii, where it's a staple to this day. Most often it's made as rolls or buns, sometimes with a significantly sweet turn. Unless made specifically as desert and enriched with a filling or more sugar or a sweet topping, the bread is perfect as a dinner accompaniment, despite the sweet concept in its name. 
Recipe source: mainly here. 

Last year: nothing.
Two years ago: nothing.
Three years ago: nothing.
Four years ago: Quattro Stagioni pizza (Italian).
Five years ago: Moroccan cous cous salad (vegan).
Six years ago: Cauliflower and potato curry (Indian) (vegan).
Seven years ago: Mâncare de mazăre (My mom's pea stew) (Romanian) (vegan).
Eight years ago: Ginger ale muffins / cupcakes, The magic mushroom and almond soup (with lemon balm melissa) (vegan) and Jamon serrano and shrimp tacos (Spanish-Mexican).



Ingredients:

• 6 to 7 cups flour
• 2 and 1/2 packages of dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1 stick margarine
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 Jumbo eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp (whiskey – aguardente) (or zest of one lemon if you want lemon flavored bread)
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 egg for brushing

Heat milk, but do not scald. Remove from heat and stir in margarine until melted. Add sugar, salt and mix. Let the milk cool down.

Meanwhile Make yeast starter by mixing packages of yeast with ¼ cup of warm water and ¼ tsp of sugar. Stir yeast until dissolved and let it rest until you see bubbles activating.

Beat eggs for a few minutes then add to the milk in a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast to the milk along with the whiskey and beat for 2 minutes.

Begin adding the flour 1 cup at a time until it’s all incorporated. Use your dough hooks or your hands to knead for about 10 minutes. The batter should be very silky and smooth but not sticky. Add more flour if you find the dough sticky.

Remove dough from mixer, place on a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes until it is smooth and soft.Place the dough into a large floured bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel. 

Let it rise in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours or until doubled.

After the dough has doubled, punch it down and let it rise for 30 minutes longer. Place your dough on a floured surface and form your bread either into a braid, loaf or mini buns.I chose classic buns.

Let the dough rise for another hour or in a warm oven for about 20 minutes or until almost double.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (130 degrees C).

Bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the heat to 330 F (165 C) and cook for 30 minutes longer until the bread has a golden color.

It's done, you can take them out from the oven and dig in!