Fresh yeast: 20 g/. oz (1 1/3 tablespoons) fresh yeast or 5 g ¼ oz (1 2/3 teaspoon) instant dried yeast
Wheat flour: 1 kg/2 lb 4 oz (8 1/3 cups) wheat flour, plus extra for dusting
Salt: 10 g/ ¼ oz (2 teaspoons) sea salt
Butter: Garlic butter or salted butter, to serve
"Even though it is called bolo (cake), this is a flatbread. Cooked on a caco (basalt stone slab) over a wood fire, it has a thin, crunchy crust and a soft, airy crumb. In the Madeira archipelago, bolo do caco is sold by street vendors, eaten with melted butter, or served in restaurants paired with regional dishes."
Combine the flour and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Alternatively, combine in a large bowl.
Put the yeast into a bowl, add 160 ml/5 ½ fl oz (2/3 cup) lukewarm water and stir until dissolved.
Add to the flour and mix on medium speed for 15 minutes, or until a smooth dough forms.
Cover the bowl with a damp tea (dish) towel and leave to rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
On a lightly floured work counter, divide the dough into 4 equal balls, then flatten them with your hands to a disc, 2 cm / ¾ inch thick.
Heat a plancha, flat grill or sauté pan. Dust the plancha with flour and cook the bolos for 6 minutes on each side, or until golden. Flip them around and cook around the edges, about 2 minutes.
Serve warm with garlic butter or salted butter.
Fine Dining Lovers readers can save 30% on Portugal: The Cookbook. Simply enter code FDL30 at check out.
Excerpted from Portugal: The Cookbook by Leandro Carreira.
Watch and learn how easy it is to master this flatbread in the video lesson and recipe below:
