Several weeks ago I had lunch with my grandfather’s cousin. She gave me Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, which is pretty cool! This is the first bread I made from it, based on the broa, a Portuguese corn bread. I don’t have a cast iron pan, which is what the bread is supposed to be cooked in and would have improved the texture, but it was still really good.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1/2 tablespoon yeast
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- zest of half an orange
- 1/2 cup cranberries
- 3 tablespoons softened butter, lard, or bacon grease
Stir together the yeast, salt, and water in a large bowl. Add the cornmeal and flour.
Stir together until evenly mixed, but do not knead.
Cover and let rest until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), about 2 hours.
You can continue on with the recipe now, or cover and refrigerate up to 10 days before using.
When you’re ready to use the dough, grease a cast iron pan (or cake pan if you don’t have one) with the butter/lard/bacon grease. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour, then shape it into a ball in your hands by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four side, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Flatten the ball to 1/2″ thick with your hands.
Sprinkle the sugar and orange zest on the dough, and scatter on the cranberries.
Roll the dough up like a jelly-roll.
Shape the roll into a ball.
Flatten the ball to about the size of your pan and drop it in.
Allow the dough to rise for 40 minutes, or 80 minutes if it had been refrigerated.
Place a broiler tray in the oven and preheat the oven to 425. Just before baking, heat your pan over the stove on medium heat for one to two minutes to help the bottom caramelize. If you’ve only got a cake pan, not a cast iron, turn the stove only to low so you don’t burn the bottom.
Transfer the pan from the stove to the oven. While the oven door is open, pour 1 cup of warm water into the hot broiler pan. If you have a long oven glove, it’s best to wear that so that any steam created doesn’t burn your arm.
Check on the bread after 20 minutes and remove from the oven when it’s a rich yellow-brown. In a thick pan, this will probably take about half an hour.
Turn the bread out of the pan and slice, or just eat out of the pan.
This is one bread that’s better to eat within a few hours, texture-wise.
Zesty!
The way you work the fruit in means there are pockets that are sweeter than other parts, which I actually quite enjoyed. I’ll probably make this again for Thanksgiving!
I’ll be submitting this to YeastSpotting, hosted this time at the Tartine Bread Experiment.
Yeasted Thanksgiving Corn Bread with Cranberries
From Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1/2 tablespoon yeast
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- zest of half an orange
- 1/2 cup cranberries
- 3 tablespoons softened butter, lard, or bacon grease
Stir together the yeast, salt, and water in a large bowl. Add the cornmeal and flour. Stir together until evenly mixed without kneading. Cover and let rest until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), about 2 hours. If desired, refrigerate now for up to 10 days.
Grease a cast iron pan with the butter/lard/bacon grease. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour, then shape it into a ball in your hands by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four side, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Flatten the ball to 1/2″ thick with your hands. Sprinkle the sugar and orange zest on the dough, and scatter on the cranberries. Roll up like a jelly-roll then shape into a ball. Flatten to the size of your pan, and allow to rise in the pan 40 minutes (80 if refrigerated).
Place a broiler tray in the oven and preheat the oven to 425. Just before baking, heat your pan over the stove on medium heat for one to two minutes to help the bottom caramelize.
Transfer the pan from the stove to the oven. While the oven door is open, pour 1 cup of warm water into the hot broiler pan.
Check on the bread after 20 minutes and remove from the oven when it’s a rich yellow-brown, likely half an hour.
Turn out of the pan, or just slice and eat right from the pan.
sparecake 