12859 Portuguese Bacon Cornbread Makes 1 loaf Wed Aug 06 07:59:08 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 06 17:51:58 -0800 2009 Licensed http://www.chow.com/recipes/12859 Sat, 07 Feb 2009 01:51:58 GMT My first exposure to northern Portugal's chewy, crusty cornbread known as broa was when I visited the region to learn about the production of Port wine, an occasion that also included my introduction also to the area's luscious, nutty, smoked bacon called toucinho. Although Portuguese bacon is still not available in the United States, I've learned that any lean, lightly smoked, artisanal slab bacon serves as a very credible substitute. Likewise, while most professional Portuguese bakers would bake this bread in steamy brick ovens to produce a dense crust, I've gotten pretty good results by merely placing a pan of boiling water on the lowest rack in the oven.

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  • In a small bowl, combine the yeast and sugar with ½ cup of the water and let proof till very bubbly, about 10 minutes.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt, oil, milk, and remaining 1½ cups of water and stir till well blended. Add the yeast mixture, stir, then gradually add the flour and stir to make a soft dough. Transfer to a floured surface, knead till smooth, about 5 minutes, and grease the mixing bowl. Form the dough into a ball, return it to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm area till doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours.
  • In a skillet, fry the bacon till crisp and drain on paper towels, reserving about 1 tablespoon of the fat. Grease a 9-inch baking pan and set aside.
  • Punch down the dough and transfer to a floured surface. Add the bacon plus the fat, knead to distribute the bacon evenly, about 5 minutes, and form the dough into an oval loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm area till doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 450°F and place a pan of boiling water on the lowest rack.
  • Bake the loaf in the center of the oven till browned and crusty, about 40 minutes, and transfer to a rack to cool.
    • ]]>     http://www.chow.com James Villas 50 Main 1 envelope active dry yeast

    ]]>     1 teaspoon sugar

    ]]>     2 cups lukewarm water

    ]]>     2 cups finely ground yellow cornmeal

    ]]>     2 teaspoons salt

    ]]>     1 tablespoon olive oil

    ]]>     1 cup lukewarm milk

    ]]>     3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

    ]]>     ¼ pound lean slab bacon (rind removed), finely chopped

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