Portuguese White Cornmeal Bread - Pão a Moda de Sao Miguel

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This really is a lovely bread and I'm pleased to be adding the recipe for it to my collection. This Portuguese treasure is quite different from the sweet bread that is so popular with vacationers on the East coast. It's made with an all-purpose flour that's given a boost with white cornmeal and very little else. The result is a bread with great flavor and a tender crumb. While I show it here as a boule, it would also make wonderful breakfast or dinner rolls. There are many who consider white breads to be déclassé. I obviously don't include myself in their ranks. Don't get me wrong, I love the artisan loaves that are so popular today, but I do believe there's a place for white bread on our tables. Especially this white bread. Once I tried this, I knew I'd be serving it on a regular basis. While it is great eaten out of hand, it makes absolutely wonderful toast and sandwiches. I think those of you who regularly bake bread will really like the flavor of these loaves. No special equipment is needed to make them and while some vigorous kneading is required, you can have the bread on the table in about 4-1/2 hours. The recipe first appeared in Gourmet magazine. Here's how the bread is made.

Portuguese White Cornmeal Bread - Pão a Moda de Sao Miguel...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of the Gourmet Cookbook

Ingredients:
1 envelope active dry yeast (2-1/2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups warm water, divided use
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup white cornmeal + additional for sprinkling
5-1/2 to 6 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
1) Stir together yeast, sugar, and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl until yeast is dissolved. Let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes.
2) Add remaining 1-3/4 cups water, 2 tablespoons butter, salt, cornmeal, and about 5-1/2 cups flour, then stir until mixture forms a dough.
3) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes.
4) Transfer dough to a large buttered bowl and brush top with some of melted butter. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours.
5) Brush 2 (9-inch) metal pie plates with remaining butter and sprinkle with cornmeal.
6) Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead briefly, 3 or 4 times, to remove air. Halve dough and form each half into a 5-inch ball, then put in pie plates (do not flatten). Cover with kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
7) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush loaves with milk and cut a 1/4-inch-deep X in top of each with a sharp knife. Bake in middle of oven until loaves are golden brown and bottoms sound hollow when tapped, 55 to 60 minutes. Transfer loaves to a rack and cool. Yield: 2 loaves.

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This post is being linked to:
Wild Yeast - Yeast Spotting

White Wonder Cake

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Do you remember Lewis Carroll's famous verse, "You are old, father William..."? I do. Every foolish word is etched in my brain, claiming space that should be, but is not, used for things of more importance. Worse still are the insults omitted from the rhyme. I bumped bellies with another one of them today. To my horror, I've discovered that an 8-inch cake is no longer large enough to hold all my birthday candles. I'm bummed. I've dealt graciously with wrinkles and knees that squeak in the night, but this latest is the cruelest of indignities. I refuse to serve overflow cupcakes at my own birthday party. Especially cupcakes made with my favorite White Wonder Cake batter. I first had this cake when I was ten years old and, for sentimental reasons, it has remained my favorite birthday cake. I think the recipe was originally printed in a Farm Journal cookbook, but I can't find any reference to the cake on the internet. It is a truly white cake that is filled with lemon curd and frosted with a icing that is barley kissed with the scent of lemon. The candles are optional and I trust those of you who love me not to count them. All seventy are there. I like the cake enough to think you might enjoy it too. Here's the 9-inch version of White Wonder Cake.



White Wonder Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Cake
1/2 cup white shorteneing
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups sifted cake flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
4 egg whites
Lemon Filling
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Lemon Cream Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
2-1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon cream
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions
1) To make the cake: Cream shortening. Add sugar and vanilla, beating until fluffy. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Blend just until smooth after each addition. Beat egg whites until stiff enough to form peaks. Fold into batter. Pour batter into 2 well-greased 9-inch cake pans. Bake in 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Turn onto racks to complete cooling.
2) To make lemon filling: Combine cornstarch, sugar and salt in a saucepan. In a separate small bowl stir egg yolks with water and lemon juice. Add to dry mixture. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add butter and lemon rind. Cool.
3) To make lemon cream frosting: Cream butter. Blend in other ingredients and beat until smooth. Add a few drops of hot water if necessary to make mixture of spreading consistency.
4) To assemble: Sandwich layers together with lemon filling and frost top and sides of cake with lemon cream frosting. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
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This recipe is being linked to:
Designs By Gollum - Foodie Friday
Pink Saturday, sponsored by Beverly at How Sweet the Sound.