A staple in every Portuguese household and served with so many dishes I can’t even count them all. You’ll typically hear my family utter ‘Pass the corn bread’ at almost every family gathering!
This bread is dense which makes it great for dipping or soaking up that delicious sauce from your favorite meal. My Vavó (Grandmother) would call this ‘Corn-o bread’ with her sweet Portuguese accent which I will never forget! She even taught me to cut this bread up into cubes and eat it in a bowl of cold milk, lightly garnished with sugar. I know it sounds SO WEIRD, but it was her version of cereal I guess! I know it seems a bit intimating making bread from scratch (at least that’s what I thought!) but, to be honest, it’s not as complicated as you think! Although it takes time for the dough to rise, it’s a pretty straight forward process and think about how great you’ll feel knowing you made fresh, warm, yummy bread all on your own!
Enjoy this warm, on it’s on, or with a tin layer of butter, and you’ll be saying ‘Pass the Corn-o Bread’ in no time!
Portuguese Corn Bread (Pão de Milho)
Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups fine White Cornmeal
2 teaspoons Salt
1-1/4 cups boiling Water
1 teaspoon Sugar
1 cup lukewarm Water, divided
1 package Yeast
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup White Corn Flour
Step 1:
In a large mixing bowl, add the cornmeal and salt and stir to combine. Add the boiling water and stir until smooth. Let the mixture cool until lukewarm, approximately 10 minutes.
Step 2:
In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar in 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water and sprinkle in the yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes. Rapidly whisk the yeast mixture with a fork and add to the cornmeal mixture. Stir to combine.
Step 3:
Add all-purpose flour to the mixture, a bit at a time, stopping a few times to slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup of lukewarm water. Blend the mixture well until completely combined.
Step 4:
Transfer dough onto well-floured surface and knead until elastic and all ingredients are well blended. This step will take you approximately 10 minutes. If your dough is a little sticky, add a bit more flour.
Step 5:
When dough is smooth and elastic, gather into a ball. Lightly grease a large mixing bowl and transfer dough into bowl, turning the dough in the bowl so it is lightly greased all over. Cover bowl with a tea towel, set in a warm spot, and allow dough to double in size, about 1-1/2 hours.
Step 6:
Punch down the dough and form into either one large loaf or two small loaves (choice is yours!) and prepare one or two well-greased pie plate(s). Roll loaf or loaves in corn flour until well covered. Transfer loaf or loaves to pie plate(s), cover with tea towel(s) and let rise in a warm spot for 45 minutes (or until doubled in size).
Step 7:
Preheat oven to 450 F. Sprinkle loaf or loaves with additional corn flour just before baking. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom – they should be golden brown and crusty on top! Transfer to wire racks to cool. Enjoy!
Makes one large loaf or two small loaves
Recipe adapted from portugueserecipes.ca
