Friday, April 3, 2009

Portuguese Cornbread -- Tyler Florence Fridays


This week for Tyler Florence Fridays I made Tyler's Portuguese Cornbread -- Broa. I love making yeasted breads and cornbread so was excited to give this recipe a try. I've made a yeasted cornbread before but it was nothing like this one, this was more crusty, dense, sturdy and chewy than I expected. I'm not 100% this came out as it is supposed to, although I checked all the basics, fresh yeast, proper rising temperature, etc. so it's leaving me a little confused.

Portuguese Cornbread -- Broa

2 packages active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups stone-ground cornmeal, plus additional for sprinkling
2 teaspoons salt (I only used 1 teaspoon since the FN reviewers said it was too salty)
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing
1 tablespoon coarse salt

In a small bowl combine the yeast, sugar, and the warm water in a large bowl until the yeast is dissolved and foamy, about 5 to 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal and salt with the boiling water. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon to blend. Add the melted butter and mix to incorporate. Now, pour the yeast mixture into the cornmeal mixture, stirring to combine. Gradually add the flour, mixing well after each addition. Add a couple of tablespoons of water if the dough feels dry and doesn't come together easily. Continue to mix until a dough forms into a ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Grease a large bowl with oil and transfer the dough to the bowl, brush the top with more oil so it is completely coated. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 11/2 hours.

Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and knead briefly, 3 or 4 times, to punch out the air. Gather the dough into a ball and shape it into a round loaf.

*These photos were taken right at the start of the final rise, the first rise (in the bowl) went normally, doubled in bulk just fine, shaped into round loaf fine, nothing out of the ordinary for yeast bread that I noticed...

Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. *This is where it started looking kind of funny to me...

This is after the final rise before going into the oven...see how it didn't rise up really but more out? I could actually hear the yeast working if I put my ear near it, kind of like the snap crackle pop from rice crispies
!

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and place a pizza stone (I did not use a pizza stone, this was my only real change) in the oven to heat up.

Put the dough round on the pizza stone and brush the top with oil. Sprinkle the top of the bread with coarse salt. Bake in middle of the oven for 40 to 50 minutes until the bread is golden brown and bottom sounds hollow when tapped. *To recreate the steam effect from authentic Portuguese brick ovens, spray the bread and oven walls with cold water every 10 minutes. Transfer the bread to a wire rack to cool.

Here is the bread after cooling and cutting a little, it had an almost peach hue to the outside of it.

So there you have it, I probably wouldn't have posted about this bread if it was not my TFF dish, I suppose it would be good with a soup or chili but not really the 'slice and have as a snack' kind of bread I was imagining. I'm thinking of giving this a second go, maybe in a loaf pan? I'm not sure. And since I've never had real Broa I really can't rate it. This bread did have a nice flavor though, I'm thinking it will make a great base for some veggie and cheese sandwiches :)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of Portuguese or yeasted cornbread. It sounds delicious.

Flourchild said...

The dough looks so good and fat..I wonder why the bread didn't rise more. I feel for you cus I just made the Honey Beescotti with the Sweet Melissa group and it was a big flop..my biscotti are flat ans flat Stanley and taste fair. I have never had good luck when baking biscotti. I think the best one was when we made the TWD recipe. Oh well I tried!

NKP said...

I've seen the broa recipe in Art-in-5 but haven't tried any. I am not sure what it is supposed to be like - but I had a Portuguese neighbour who had the most dense wine!
Sorry the bread didn't work out like you would have liked.. there's always next week!

Megan said...

Oooh I hate it when that happens - I feel for you this week because I had a flop as well.

I've never heard of yeasted cornbread, but it certainly sounds interesting.

Deb in Hawaii said...

I don't know what the texture should be like but it is too bad it isn't more tender to snack on. Sounds like a good excuse for chili!

Anonymous said...

I haven't ever heard of yeasted cornnbread either. But I bet with a sandwich it would be good.

Michelle said...

I love cornbread. But I don't think I've ever seen a yeasted cornbread before. And with 2 pkgs of yeast it should have risen to the heavens!

I wonder if it would rise better if you used a finer corn meal then the coarse gound the recipe called for?

Michelle said...

You could crumble it up, dry it out and use it for breading. I make my own bread crumbs, some fine for breading and chunky for croutons.

Donna-FFW said...

Hmm, a yeasted cornbread.. interesting.. looks delicious..

Anonymous said...

The way it came out rather appeals to me! LOL! I think I like the idea for a chili feed...I'll keep it in mind! It looks fabulous!

Jenny said...

It must be the weather, I had similar problems with a bread this week.
Must have been tasty.

Elyse said...

Ooo, I've never heard of Broa, but it looks just fabulous. I'm totally going to have to try it now. Thanks for sharing the recipe! I found your blog on the Sweet Melissa Sundays blogroll--your blog is totally excellent! Can't wait to bake together!

Related Posts with Thumbnails