Portuguese Broa
Erica Lea on Jun 16th 2010
Are you looking for a light, airy bread recipe? This one is not for you. Are you looking for a hearty, whole-grain bread filled with complex flavors? Keep reading.
I must admit that I had my doubts about this recipe. I threw all of the ingredients into the bread machine, set it to the dough cycle, and left it for hours. When I returned, it hadn’t risen very far and the dough smelled strongly of yeast. Being an optimist at heart, I scraped it out of the pan, formed it into a ball, and set the oven.
To my surprise, it rose beautifully. I slashed it, sprinkled it with water, and placed it in the oven, and it baked up just as the recipe described. It was delicious spread with butter and honey; it was even better toasted.
Broa
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Printable Page
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (4 1/8 ounces) yellow cornmeal
- 3/4 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup milk, warmed
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Directions:
1) Mix together the cornmeal and hot water in a small bowl. Stir in the warm milk, and let the mixture cool to lukewarm. Then add the remaining ingredients and mix and knead them together — by hand, mixer or bread machine — to form a smooth, slightly sticky dough.
2) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and turn it over, so that the top is oiled. Cover the dough and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until it’s puffy; this rising time will develop both the flavor and the gluten.
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, or one that’s been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover it and let it rise for 45 minutes, or until it’s very puffy.
4) Just before placing the loaf in a preheated 450°F oven, spritz it lightly with water and make four slashes, each about 1/4-inch deep, into the top crust. Place the loaf in the oven and bake it for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 400°F, and continue to bake for another 15 minutes, or until it’s golden brown.
Yield: l round loaf, 12 slices.
Filed in Baking, Bread, Breakfast
As soon as I read “Are you looking for a light, airy bread recipe?” I was like ‘YES,YES!” And then you said “This is not for you” and I was like ‘What?? Why?”
But then I read further and loved it!
I sooo want to learn making breads but somehow manage to get busy and ‘idea drop!’ would love to learn some recipes from you.. Bookmarked!
Thanks for visiting my space and for your lovely comments.. Stay in touch and keep inspiring!
Somehow you read my mind… I’ve been searching for whole grain bread recipes for like 20 min and I wasn’t convinced with any of them… this sounds perfect! I will definitely make it this weekend! thanks for sharing!
Very nice!!I am trying some bread this week.. I find i want to bake it more and more.. will keep for my “”to do”list
This looks like a delicious bread recipe. I especially love the photo with the butter! Divine! Have you ever tried Apple Bread? It’s a traditional Samhain recipe. Thanks for your great post by the way!