A typical Portuguese breakfast is, like many European breakfasts, a simple affair: coffee, a bread or roll, smeared with jam, maybe accompanied by some cheese or ham. It’s admittedly my favorite part of hopping across the pond, and my friends and I love to ooh and ahh over the simplist of breakfasts and wonder why we don’t repeat the easy spread at home. I still wonder. Anyway, after the somewhat heartier breakfasts of late, I was perfectly happy just having some bread and so I opted to try my hand at this Broa (Portuguese Corn Bread).

Despite my love, I rarely make it from scratch, so far having some strange aversion to making anything with yeast. Irrational position, I agree, but after making the waffles, I started to come around to the idea that it was easier to make that I had previously given yeast bread credit for being.

portuguese corn bread

Broa is rustic in style, and is commonly eaten alongside some pretty traditional soups and stews, which are on the menu for later this week, so I figured I’d kick things off this week with that in mind. It’s heavy, moist, and has a really thick, crunchy crust, made possible by “steaming” the loaf while it bakes at a really high temperature. This recipe was adapted from King Arthur Flour, but the technique came more from The Barefoot Kitchen Witch. Next time I think I’ll take the tip to use whole wheat flour or blue cornmeal, just for variety. This is definitely not your light and airy bread, but more like a brick.

portuguese corn bread

I say that lovingly in the best way possible. One tasty, delicious, hearty, crusty brick. Lathered in some salted butter, I could not help myself. I bet you won’t be able to either.

Broa (Portuguese corn bread)

Broa

January 14, 2013

Servings: 8-10

Prep: 2 hr

Cook: 50 min

Total: 3 hr

Difficulty: Easy

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Broa (Portuguese corn bread) is a hearty, cornmeal-based, slightly sweet bread with a delightfully crusty exterior.

By: Chrissy

Ingredients

1 cup yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup milk, warmed
2 tsp instant yeast
2 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 TB honey
1 TB olive oil

Directions

Step 1 Mix together the cornmeal and hot water in a small bowl. Stir in the warm milk, and let the mixture cool to lukewarm. Add the remaining ingredients and mix and knead them together for five minutes on a floured surface (I did by hand).
Step 2 Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and turn it over, so that the top is oiled. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours in a warm place (I used my microwave).
Step 3 Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased or floured work surface, knead it lightly (just once or twice), and form it into a ball. Place it onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover it and let it rise for 45 minutes, or until it has doubled in size. Here, you can also divide the dough to make two smaller loaves.
Step 4 Preheat the oven to 450F. Put a heavy duty shallow metal pan in the bottom of your oven or on the lowest rack as the oven is preheating. Measure out 4 cups the hottest tap water. Set aside.
Step 5 When it’s time to put the bread in the oven, pour the hot water into your shallow pan after you’ve placed the baking sheet on a rack. The water will create a burst of steam – close the door quickly.
Step 6 Bake the bread about 50-60 minutes. You want a very hard, dark crust. Tap on the bottom of the loaf- it should sound hollow. If you decide to bake two smaller loaves, check the bread at 40 minutes. Enjoy!