AI-generated image
Broa de milho
Corn and rye bread
Broa de milho: Minho's dense, crackle-crusted corn and rye loaf
Across the green hills of the Minho, broa was once baked weekly in a wood oven shared by the village, and a wedge of it still sits beside every bowl of caldo verde and every plate of grilled sardines. The crumb is yellow, close and slightly sweet from the maize, with a thick crust that splits as it bakes. Scalding the cornmeal with boiling water first is what gives it that moist, almost cake-like bite. A common mistake is slicing the loaf hot, while the crumb is still gummy; let it cool for at least an hour. Chef's tip: leave the loaf on a rack for at least two hours before slicing, because cutting it hot leaves the inside gummy.
- Total time
- 80 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb fine yellow cornmealstone-ground if you can find it
- 2 cups boiling water
- 5 ½ oz rye flour
- 5 ½ oz strong white bread flourplus extra for dusting
- 2 tsp fine salt
- ¾ cup lukewarm waterabout 35 °C
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Put the 1 ⅛ lb fine yellow cornmeal and 2 tsp fine salt in a large bowl, pour in the 2 cups boiling water and stir hard with a wooden spoon until there are no dry patches. The mixture will look like thick, crumbly porridge.
3 minStep 2: Leave it uncovered until it is just warm to the touch, about 95°F, roughly 25 minutes. If it is still hot, it will kill the yeast.
25 minStep 3: Stir the ¼ oz fast-action dried yeast into the ¾ cup lukewarm water, then add it to the bowl with the 5 ½ oz rye flour and 5 ½ oz strong white bread flour.
2 minStep 4: Knead in the bowl with a wet hand for 6–8 minutes. The dough stays sticky and heavy, more like wet clay than wheat dough; do not keep adding flour to make it smooth.
8 minStep 5: Cover and leave in a warm place for 1–1½ hours, until it has risen by about half and small cracks appear on the surface.
90 minStep 6: Heat the oven to 475°F with a heavy baking tray or cast-iron pan inside. Dust a medium bowl generously with flour, tip the dough in and roll it around to form a rough dome.
10 minStep 7: Turn the dome out onto the hot tray, floured side up. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust has set and begun to crack.
15 minStep 8: Lower the oven to 400°F and bake for another 30–35 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the base sounds hollow when knocked.
35 minStep 9: Cool on a rack for at least 2 hours. Wrapped in a cloth, it keeps for 4–5 days and is excellent toasted or crumbled as a topping.
120 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 260 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does broa de milho take?
- About 80 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of fast-action dried yeast?
- Fresh yeast, three times the weight.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
SalufPuffy flatbread
Saluf is the everyday bread of Yemenite Israelis, slapped onto a hot pan or taboon in Rosh HaAyin and Sha'arayim in Rehovot and eaten with marak temani, hilbe and zhug. It is soft and blistered, thicker than pita and with no pocket, made to tear and dunk. Home cooks often roll it too thin, which gives a cracker; it should be about 1 cm thick so it stays pillowy. Chef's tip: cook it under a lid on a very hot dry pan for the first minute, which traps steam and puffs it the way a taboon does.
Israeli
ChipaCheese bread rings
In Paraguay you hear 'chipa, chipa!' called by vendors with big baskets on buses and street corners, and every family bakes it for Holy Week, when chipa is the food of Good Friday. Cassava starch, a little cornmeal, butter, eggs and a lot of hard cheese are kneaded into a dough scented with aniseed, shaped into rings or small rolls and baked in a hot oven, traditionally a domed clay tatakua. It's chewy, crisp outside and best warm with cocido (toasted yerba tea). Chef's tip: the dough should feel soft and slightly greasy; add milk a spoon at a time, as too much makes the chipa spread flat.
Paraguayan
Matzah
Matzah is the flat unleavened bread eaten at Passover, recalling the Israelites leaving Egypt in too much haste for their bread to rise, and in Israel and Jewish homes worldwide it is also eaten as a crisp everyday cracker with soups and dips. The dough is only flour and water; by tradition it is mixed, rolled and baked within 18 minutes so it cannot ferment. This home version follows that rhythm but is not certified for Passover use. There is no salt: about 0.0 g salt per sheet. The usual mistake is rolling too thick, which gives a tough, chewy bread; roll until you can almost see the counter through it. Chef's tip: prick the dough all over with a fork before baking so it stays flat and blisters evenly.