"This dense bread is call broa in Portugal. Our 'secrest' ingredient for its unusual flavor and texture is barley cereal for babies! The loaves are also sprayed with water during baking to help give them the characteristic crisp and chewy crust."
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 1 package (8oz.) barley cereal(about 4 1/2 cups)*, uncooked
- 2 1/2 cups stone-ground cornmeal, preferably white
- 4 teaspoons salt
- about 4 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- *Barley cereal can be found in the baby-food section of supermarkets.
Directions
1. In small bowl, stir sugar and yeast into 1/2 cup warm water (105-115 degrees F.); let stand until yeast mixture foams, about 5 minutes.
2. In large bowl, combine barley cereal, cornmeal, salt, and 4 cups flour. With wooden spoon, stir in yeast mixture and 2 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees F.) unitl combined. With floured hands, shape dough into a ball in bowl.
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place (80-85 degrees F.) until doubled, about 1 hour.
4. Punch down dough and turn onto well-floured surface. Knead dough until smooth, about 5 minutes, working in more flour (about 3/4 cup) as necessary while kneading.
5. Grease large cookie sheet. Cut dough in half and shape each half into a 6-inch round. Coat each round with flour, place on cookie sheet. Cover loaves with towel and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake loaves until golden brown, a total of about 35 minutes,using spray bottle to spritz loaves with water after first 5 minutes of baking, and again 10 minutes later. Cool on wire racks. Makes 2 loaves, 12 servings per loaf.
Prep: 20 minutes plus rising and cooling
Bake: 35 minutes
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Submitted 6/13/05.
Source: Good Housekeeping/ Feb. '98
Submitted By: Linda Wilson
lwilson@gatecom.com
Portuguese Peasant Bread