Broa bread

Some years ago I had the pleasure to stay for some days in a Portuguese family. They have shared their home with me and my friends and they have treated us as the most special guests. Back then, I was just a student looking to meet people from different cultures and to visit a lot of beautiful places. And what I remember the most was a very nice lady from that family who made my staying there a special one. She has shared with me a lot of traditional food, she has shown me a small part of a Portuguese life. They are very special and warm people, they have a lot of faith and love to share. During my stay there I was almost catching the Portuguese language. I was so impressed about how similar it sounds with my mother tongue. I really felt like home there and I am very grateful to Amelia to give me all these nice memories.

Here is a Portuguese bread that makes my mind to travel back in time ...


Ingredients:

• 500g corn flour
• 500g bread flour
• 660g water (at 20ºC)
• 200g sourdough (100% hydrated)
• 10g fresh yeast
• 20g salt
• 60g canola oil

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients in a standing robot, 4 minutes on a low speed and 10 minutes on a higher speed.
2. Bulk fermentation 1h at room temperature.
3. Preshape 2 round loaves and let the dough relax for 15 minutes.
4. Shape the final loafs.
5. Final fermentation in lightly floured bannetons 1h 30 " at 24ºC. 
6. Preheat the oven at 260ºC with the baking stone inside.
7. Bake with steam in the first 15 minutes at 260ºC and continue for another 30 minutes reducing the temperature to 240ºC.

This recipe was inspired from Le Larousse du pain - Eric Kayser, page 278.