A corn and rye bread traditionally made in Portugal, Galicia, Angola, Brazil, and many more.
Broa, also fully known as Broa de Milho, originates as early as the Medieval period as its first recipe dates back to the 12th century. In an article written on 1417 located in the Institute of National Archives in Lisbon, it defines Broa as corn bread for the poor. Back then, wheat was mainly for the rich, so Broa was consumed mainly by everyday people. It was only until the 20th century that everyone started eating it.
Ingredients
300 gram whole-grain corn flour or stone-ground cornmeal
100 gram bread flour
300 gram water
8 gram fine salt
100 gram ripe sourdough starter
Rice flour to sprinkle on the bread
Instructions
Put the corn flour in a heat-proof bowl.
Boil water in an electric boiler.
Pour the water over the corn flour and stir until all the flour has been hydrated. Let it cool to room temperature. About one hour.
Add bread flour, salt, sourdough starter and knead the dough by hand until it forms a bread dough.
Form the dough to a boule and press it down slightly. Make sure the ball has a smooth surface.
Spray the top of the dough with a water mister and sprinkle with rice flour. Use your hands to spread the flour evenly.
Let the dough proof on the kitchen counter under a dish cloth. At least 3.5 hours, but you can leave it until the next morning if you wish.
Heat the oven to 260°C/500°F. If it doesn’t go as high, go as far as you can. If you have a baking steel or pizza stone, you should use that. Heat for an hour so you are sure the baking steel is completely saturated with heat.
Bake the first 20 minutes on 260°C/500°F, then turn it down to 230°C/445°F.
Keep baking until the bread is 99°C/210°F inside.
Take the bread out of the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack. It takes a couple of hours.
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