Best Portuguese Cornbread Recipes

PORTUGUESE CORNBREAD: BROA

Steps:

• 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. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and place a pizza stone 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.

BROA (PORTUGUESE CORNBREAD)

Steps:

• Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Whisk in butter and 2 teaspoons sugar. Add cornmeal and whisk until mixture reaches a thick, sauce-like consistency. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
• In the meantime, sprinkle yeast and a pinch of sugar over warm water. Stir and let stand until yeast softens and begins to form a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
• Combine flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixture fitted with the dough hook. Add the yeast mixture and mix on low speed. Slowly pour in the milk mixture. Knead into a slightly dense dough. Remove from the bowl and roll into a ball.
• Grease the sides of a bowl or pot with olive oil and add the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
• Punch dough down and roll into 2 boules, or flat-bottomed balls. Place boules on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. Sprinkle tops with flour and cover with plastic wrap again. Let rise until puffy, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Fill an oven-proof pot with 4 to 5 cups water and place on the bottom rack of the preheating oven.
• Cut 4 shallow slits into the tops of the puffed bread boules in a cross pattern, 2 parallel lines up and 2 across.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Spritz tops with water from a spray bottle. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) and continue baking until crusts are a deep brown, about 20 minutes. Remove breads from the pan and let cool for 20 minutes.

PORTUGUESE CORNBREAD - BROA

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup of the cornmeal, the salt and boiling water and stir vigorously until smooth. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, then cool to lukewarm. In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the lukewarm water.
• Let it stand for 2 or 3 minutes, then stir to dissolve the yeast completely. Set the bowl in a warm draft-free place, such as an unlighted oven, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the yeast doubles in volume.
• Stir the yeast into the cornmeal mixture. Stirring constantly, gradually add the remaining ½ cup of cornmeal and 1 cup of the flour. Gather the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl and drape a towel over it. Set it aside in the draft-free place for about 30 minutes, or until it doubles in bulk.
• With a pastry brush, coat the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan with the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and punch it down. Then knead it by pressing it down with the heel of your hand, pushing it forward and folding it back on itself repeatedly for about 5 minutes, meanwhile adding up to 1 cup more flour to make a firm but not stiff dough.
• Pat and shape it into a round flat loaf and place it in the greased pan. Drape a towel over it and set it aside in the draft free place for about 30 minutes, or until it doubles in bulk again.
• Preheat the oven to 350°. Bake the bread in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes, or until the top is golden. Transfer it to a rack to cool.

BROA - PORTUGUESE CORNBREAD

Steps:

• 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. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let rise again until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. and place a pizza stone 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.

PORTUGUESE CORNBREAD (BROA)

Steps:

• 1. Combine the yeast and half the cornmeal in a large mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup of the water and beat until smooth. Allow to rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, 30 to 45 minutes.
• 2. Stir the mixture to deflate it, and add the remaining water, milk, oil, salt and the remaining cornmeal. Stir to combine. Add enough of the flour, 1 cup at a time, to make a soft but workable dough, usually about 5 cups.
• 3. Turn onto a well-floured surface and knead vigorously for 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball and place in a greased bowl, turning it so as to cover all sides lightly with grease. Cover with a clean cloth and allow to rise until double in bulk, about 1 hour.
• 4. Punch the dough down and knead on a well-floured surface for 5 minutes. Replace in the bowl, allow to double in bulk again, then knead for 5 more minutes. Divide the dough in two and form into round balls. Place on a greased baking sheet or in individual greased cake pans and allow to double in bulk again.
• 5. Place a shallow pan of water in the bottom of the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F. Place the loaves in the center of the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
• 6. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and bake an additional 15 minutes. Once the loaves are browned and produce a hollow sound when thumped, remove to cooling racks.

PAO DE MILHO ( PORTUGUESE CORNBREAD )

Steps:

• Please note that the corn flour in this recipe is NOT cornstarch; you should be able to find corn flour at your grocery store in either the aisle where flour is sold, or in the aisle where ethnic foods are sold.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix the cornmeal and salt together, then add the boiling water and stir until smooth.
• Let this cool until mixture is lukewarm (should take about 10 minutes).
• Meanwhile, in a measuring cup, dissolve the sugar in 1/2 cup of the lukewarm water and sprinkle in the yeast; let stand for 10 minutes.
• Now rapidly whisk the yeast mixture with a fork and then stir into the cornmeal mixture.
• A bit at a time, mix in the all-purpose flour, stopping a few times to slowly add in the remaining 1/2 cup lukewarm water; blend this mixture well, until completely combined.
• Turn this mixture out onto a well-floured surface and knead until elastic and all ingredients are well blended; this will likely take about 10 minutes.
• If you need to -- and only if you NEED to -- add a bit more flour; you will likely need to if your kitchen is at all humid, as that can keep the dough a little sticky.
• When smooth and elastic, gather the dough into a ball.
• Lightly grease a fairly large mixing bowl and put the dough into bowl, turning dough so it is greased all over.
• Cover bowl with a clean tea towel, place in a draft-free area (try the top of your fridge, or inside your oven -- not turned on of course) and let dough rise until doubled in bulk, which should take about 90 minutes.
• Now punch down the dough and shape it into either one round loaf or two small ones; have ready a well greased baking sheet or a well greased pie plate.
• Roll the loaf (loaves) in corn flour until well covered, then, if you've made the two small loaves, place on baking sheet, or if you've prepared just the one large loaf, place on pie plate.
• Cover with clean tea towel and let rise in a draft-free place for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
• Sprinkle with additional corn flour just before baking.
• Bake bread in preheated 450F oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped on bottom; they should be golden brown and crusty on top.
• Transfer to wire racks and wait impatiently for them to cool.

CRUSTY PORTUGUESE-AMERICAN YEASTED CORNBREAD (NO KNEAD)

Steps:

• First Rise: In a medium bowl, gradually stir the boiling water into the cornmeal until smoothly incorporated. Let cool thoroughly. In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, salt, and yeast. Gradually but vigorously stir the ice water into the cooled cornmeal until very smoothly blended. Then vigorously stir the cornmeal mixture into the bowl with the flour, scraping down the sides until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. If too dry to mix completely, a bit at a time, stir in just enough more ice water to blend the ingredients; don't over-moisten, as the dough should be stiff. If the dough is soft, vigorously stir in enough more flour to stiffen it. Brush or spray the top with vegetable oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If desired, for best flavor or for convenience, you can refrigerate the dough for 3 to 10 hours. Then let rise at cool room temperature for 12 to 18 hours.
• Second Rise: Vigorously stir the dough, adding more flour if needed to yield a hard-to-stir dough. Using an oiled rubber spatula, fold the dough in towards the center all the way around. Brush or spray the top with oil. Re-cover with nonstick spray-coated plastic wrap.
• Let Rise Using Any of These Methods: For a 1-1/2- to 2-1/2-hour regular rise, let stand at warm room temperature; for a 1- to 2-hour accelerated rise, let stand in a turned-off microwave along with 1 cup of boiling-hot water; or for an extended rise, refrigerate, covered, for 4 to 12 hours, then set out at room temperature. Continue the rise until the dough doubles from the deflated size, removing the plastic if the dough nears it.
• Baking Preliminaries: 20 minutes before baking time, put a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 450°F Heat a 3-1/2- to 4-quart (or larger) heavy metal pot in the oven until sizzling hot (check with a few drops of water), then remove it, using heavy mitts. Taking care not to deflate the dough, loosen it from the bowl sides with an oiled rubber spatula and gently invert it into the pot. Don't worry if it's lopsided and raggedlooking; it will even out during baking. Generously spray or brush the top with water, then sprinkle over a tablespoon of cornmeal. Immediately top with the lid. Shake the pot back and forth to center the dough.
• Baking: Reduce the heat to 425°F Bake on the lower rack for 50 minutes. Remove the lid. Reduce the heat to 400°F Bake for 15 to 25 minutes longer, until the top is well browned and a skewer inserted in the thickest part comes out with just a few crumbs on the tip (or until the center registers 210°F to 212°F on an instant-read thermometer). Then bake for 5 minutes longer to ensure the center is baked through. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the loaf to the rack. Cool thoroughly.
• Serving and Storing: This tastes good warm but will cut better when cool. Cool completely before storing. To maintain the crisp crust, store in a large bowl draped with a clean tea towel or in a heavy paper bag. Or store airtight in a plastic bag or foil: The crust will soften, but can be crisped by heating the loaf, uncovered, in a 400°F oven for a few minutes. The bread will keep at room temperature for 3 days, and may be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months.

PORTUGUESE CORNBREAD (BROA)

Steps:

• Grind cornmeal to a powder in a food processor. You may skip this step, but the product will not be as smooth.
• Mix 1 cup of powdered cornmeal, salt and water until smooth.
• Add olive oil, and cool to lukewarm.
• Blend in the yeast.
• Gradually add the remaining cornmeal and 1 cup flour, mixing constantly.
• Add more flour if dough is still sticky.
• Rise until double in volume.
• Knead until firm.
• Shape into round loaf.
• Rise until double.
• Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes.

PORTUGUESE CORNBREAD

Steps:

• In stand mixer bowl, fitted with dough hook attachment, combine 1 cup of the cornmeal, pepper and salt.
• Add 1 cup boiling water and mix until smooth. Let cool to 120°F (about 20 minutes).
• Mix in yeast and sugar, then 1/4 cup hot water and 1 tablespoon oil.
• Mix in remaining 1/2 cup cornmeal.
• Add 1 cup bread flour and mix until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
• Cover bowl with damp towel and let dough rise in warm, draft-free area until puffy. ( about 45 minutes).
• Grease 9-inch metal pie pan with oil.
• Knead enough of the remaining bread flour into dough to make it nonsticky. Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
• Form dough into a ball and place in pan.
• Flatten to fill bottom of pan, cover with towel and let rise in warm, draft-free area until doubled, about 50 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Score top of bread in ticktacktoe pattern.
• Bake until bread is light brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, about 45 minutes.
• Remove from pan; cool on rack.
• Serve warm or at room temperature. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool. Wrap tightly. Before serving, wrap in foil and warm in 350°F oven 15 minutes).

PORTUGUESE CORNBREAD STUFFING

Steps:

• Saute' veggies (except cilantro) in the e.v.o.o.
• Add sausages and cook thoroughly.
• Add margarine and spices, cook for 2 minutes to blend the flavours.
• Remove from heat and add stuffing mix, wine & cilantro.
• Add broth slowly, stopping when stuffing is as moist as you like it (you can add a little extra water if needed).
• Stuff your turkey with the mixture & cook according to it's weight (Or, you can place in a covered casserole & bake @375 degrees for about 45 minutes).
• Remove cover & bake for about 10 more minutes until lightly browned on top.
• When cooking in a casserole, you may want to start with a moister recipe to avoid an overly dry stuffing.

PORTUGUESE CORNBREAD

Steps:

• In a small bowl, sprinkle or crumble yeast and sugar over the lukewarm water. Let stand for 2 or 3 minutes, then stir to dissolve. Set the bowl in a warm, draft-free place for 8 to 10 minutes, or until yeast doubles in volume.
• Pulverize the cornmeal in a blender until fine.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup cornmeal, salt, and boiling water. Stir vigorously until smooth. Stir in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cool mixture to lukewarm. Stir proofed yeast into the cornmeal mixture. Gradually add 1/2 cup cornmeal and flour. Gather the dough into a ball, and place it in a greased bowl. Cover. Set it aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
• With a pastry brush, coat the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie pan with remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Turn the dough out into pie pan, and cover. Let it rise in a warm place for another 30 minutes, or until it doubles in bulk again.
• Bake in the middle of a preheated 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 40 minutes, or until top is golden. Transfer to a rack to cool.