Portuguese Bread (Pão de milho ou Broa de Milho)
In Portugal, bread is a ritual, almost a religion: people buy fresh bread every day and there’s always a basket of bread on the table at every meal. More often than not, breakfast is toast or a sandwich. This recipe is from a friend's mother, Leocádia Floriano-Hernandez, whom he lost in 2016. She was Portuguese, and in her honor, he makes her Portuguese bread for Thanksgiving for his dad and siblings that she loved so much. This post is in her honor.
Servings: 12 people
Ingredients
- 1 packet yeast
- 1 cup water lukewarm
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 2 cups corn masa flour
- 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 cup cold water for masa flour
- 6 cups all purpose white flour
Instructions
- Mix yeast, one cup lukewarm water and 1/2 tablespoon sugar and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups of corn masa (flour used for tortillas) and 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt. Add 2 cups of boiling water and one cup cold water to the masa mixture and mix with a wooden spoon.
- Knead 6 cups all purpose white flour into masa mixture, one cup at a time.
- Slowly add yeast mixture to the masa mixture and knead dough. Shape into a big ball, set in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until dough has risen and doubled in size (1-2 hours).
- Heat oven to 500 degrees and bake for 45 minutes.
Notes
Slice and serve with cheese and a good Port wine.