Broa
By: Jenny Richards
Published: Friday, January 22, 2010 - 1:34pm

Ingredients




3 cups hot (not boiling) water
2 cups fine yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon yeast
1 cup milk
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
9 cups unbleached AP flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Preparation

1 In a large mixing bowl pour the hot water over the cornmeal. Wait at least 5 minutes and sprinkle yeast on top (if you put the yeast on too early, the heat will kill the yeast). Wait until yeast is bloomed, about 5 minutes. 2 Stir in milk, oil and honey. 3 Add in flour and salt. If using a mixer, attach the dough hook and mix for 5 minutes. Or mix by hand for 10 minutes. The dough will be sticky. 4 Let the dough rise until doubled in bulk and divide into 3 pieces. 5 On a floured table shape each piece of dough into a patty shape, then lightly tuck and roll into a ‘football’  shape. Place the 3 loaves on 2 full sheet pans which have been sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle more cornmeal on top of each loaf. 6 Let rise again until doubled, make a long shallow cut along the top of each loaf. 7 Bake at 425F for 45 minutes, rotating pans as you go.

About


This recipe yields enough dough for 3 loaves, but it can be divided in half or thirds.
The broa should cool about 20 minutes before slicing.
You can also mix the dough and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator. It will just take a bit longer to rise after you form the loaves because the dough is cold.