Passport & Plate - For the Love of Good Bread--Bolo do Caco
Portugal | Monday, January 27, 2014 | 1 photos
Ingredients
Bolo do Caco
2 Cups bread flour
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 cup sweet potato flesh cooked (see above)
3/4 cup natural bread starter
1/2 - 3/4 cup water (add small amounts of water until the dough is a little sticky)
Make your own (sourdough) starter
3/4 cup warm spring water
2 cups flour (this can be white, wheat, rye or a combination)
1/2 cup grated apple (the natural yeast is on the apple)
Mix the ingredients together and put them into a loosely covered glass or ceramic container.
Day 1-3 Let this 'ferment' for about 3 days in a warm room. You can stir once a day. You will begin to smell the 'sourdough'
Day 4 put this starter into a bowl and add another 2 cups flour and 3/4 cup warm spring water cover and let sit for another 24 hours.
Day 5 The starter is now ready to use or you can store it in the fridge. Feed once a week as above.
How to prepare this recipe1. Place 2 cups bread flour in a large bowl
2. Add the sweet potato, salt, and bread starter
3. Use your hands to incorporate the ingredients together
4. Add a small amount of water at a time to make the dough slightly sticky and then begin to knead, adding a little flour to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.
Let the dough rise.
5. Knead for 8-10 min by hand
6. Oil the bowl and pat a little on the dough, cover and let rise 8-10 hours. Remember natural starters are slow rising - this is not a 'quick' bread.
Now we make the Bolo
1. When the dough has risen, gather it into your hands and carefully divide it into pieces the size of plums. NOTE - you can also make larger Bolo that are about 8 inches across. For a larger bolo you need a tennis ball size dough ball.
2. Roll the dough in your hands to give it a nice ball shape and then flatten it into a piece that is about 4-5 inches across and about 1/2 inch thick. Divide to plum sized balls.
3. Place the bolo on a kitchen towel that is generously dusted with flour.
4. Cover with another dusted towel and let rise in a warm spot for 2 hours.
5. Preheat a large skillet on low heat until hot. Do not set your temperature too high or the bolo will burn or brown too quickly, and not cook completely on the inside. Use a heavy, thick skillet. The skillet can stay dry, no need to oil it.
6. Use a spatula to carefully lift the bolo and place them into the skillet.
7. Cook the bolo for 10-14 minutes on one side and then flip over for another 8-10 minutes. They should be golden to medium brown. If they are cooking too quickly, lower temp. A lower temp is better so they cook slowly. Flip and bake on the other side.
8. When they are cooked on one side flip and continue cooking. When they are done, remove from the skillet, put them onto a rack or flat plate and start your next batch. Fork split and serve with butter or toast them the next day.
The story behind this recipe There is a time to celebrate an elegant meal, exquisite in detail to ingredient, preparation, and environment, and shared with the company of friends. And there are times to revel in a simplistic concept of sustenance, as may befit an occasion.
One such occasion recently availed itself to me upon landing on the island of Madeira. Armed with an agenda full of hiking the lavadas (ancient irrigation canals turned hiking trails), I was on the look out for quick and easy trail food.
A lover of good bread by nature with a constant eye out for the next bakery, I soon discovered bolo do caco, a traditional round, flat, inch thick bread that has survived its peasantry past to become an island mainstay, popular in local markets and at festivals.
Made of flour and sweet potato, the name bolo means cake (though not a sweet dessert like we think of in the west), and caco, meaning broken piece, referring to stones or broken tiles the breads were once cooked on.
This sturdy bread quickly became the perfect main course for my nomadic existence as I traveled the island's network of trails. That, and an exciting, raw, array of fruit and vegetable delicacies from the local farmers markets and roadside vendors; guavas, mango and banana in a dozen variations each, soft white cherimoya with its rock hard jet black seeds, passion fruit, and tiny tangerines, ripened to perfection at a lovely shade of lime green, topped off with an aperitif of world famous Madeiran wine. And, oh, forget not the chestnuts roasting on an open fire served in nearly every town square.
Now please don't get me wrong--I love to cook, and enjoy a fine meal out featuring the talents of great chefs and ingredients from the world over. But there are also times when I need to get away from my busy life and be a bohemian, or a minimalist, and a locavore. With a backpack full of good bread and great fruit, I can travel quick and light, stay on the move, and snack at will on wholesome goodness.
