Portuguese Bread

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A really tasty Portuguese bread recipe with a tender crumb which works as well for making sandwiches as it does for mopping up soup, dips and sauces. It’s made with just four basic ingredients and uses the autolyse method, which helps develop great flavour and texture with minimal effort. The result is a beautifully aromatic loaf with a soft but bouncy structure that toasts wonderfully too.

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Resting Time1 30

Course: Breakfast, Lunch

Cuisine: Portuguese

Keyword: bread

Servings: slices

Calories: 155kcal

Author: Choclette @ Tin and Thyme

Equipment

Ingredients

500 g strong white bread flour
220 g strong wholemeal flour
550 ml water
1 tsp instant yeast (3g) or 4g active dried yeast or 10g fresh yeast
1 ½ tsp sea salt (6g)

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Place the flours in the bowl of your stand mixer or other large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the water. Mix from the inside out with a long wooden spoon, or a spurtle if you have one until the flour is thoroughly combined.
500 g strong white bread flour, 220 g strong wholemeal flour, 550 ml water
Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel or plate so that it doesn't dry out. Leave to rest for at least thirty minutes and up to 3 hours.
Add the yeast to one side of the bowl and the salt to the other, then knead with your dough hook for six minutes.
1 tsp instant yeast, 1 ½ tsp sea salt
Cover the bowl again and leave in a warm place for the dough to rise until doubled in size. How long it takes will very much depend on room temperature, but should be somewhere between 1-2 hours.
Meanwhile grease a 900g (2 lb) loaf tin, or line it with baking paper if needed.
Using a dough scraper, scrape the dough into the tin. This is the tricky part, but try not to knock too much of the air out. Stretch the dough out to level it as best you can.
Place the tin in the centre of the oven, then turn it on to 220C. Bake for 35 minutes until well risen and lightly brown all over. No need to pre-heat your oven.
Test for doneness by turning the loaf out of the tin and tapping the bottom. It should sound hollow. If not, put the loaf back in the oven for a further 5-10 minutes.
When done, turn the loaf out of the tin onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once completely cold, slice and enjoy.

Notes

This is a very wet dough, so if kneading by hand you'll need to use the stretch and fold method. But first make sure the salt and yeast are thoroughly combined into the dough.

You’ll find additional tips and info about this recipe in the main body of the post.

Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They’re approximate and will depend on serving size and exact ingredients used. Please refer to my nutrition disclaimer for further information.

Nutrition