Bolo do caco is a traditional bread from the Madiera island in Portugal. It’s a unique but simple bread made using flour, yeast, salt, water and sweet potatoes.
The ingredients are mixed into a heavy dough which is left to sit for several hours to several days before portioning into smaller pieces which are shaped into discs. The cooked bread is eaten with flavored, salted butter.
Besides the use of sweet potatoes in the dough, other aspects that add to this bread’s uniqueness is how it is prepared. In more recent recipes, the dough is cooked almost right away but when following the traditional method, the dough is left to ferment from 1 to 3 days.
The other aspect is that traditionally, bolo do caco was cooked on a hot basalt stone. Today besides using a hot flat surface, it can be baked in the oven or fried in shallow oil. Bolo do caco is a popular appetizer but is also enjoyed as the main course when paired with other items, like meats and salad or when used as a sandwich bread.
Origin & Cultural Significance
Cultivation of sweet potatoes was introduced to the Madiera islands around the 16th century. The islands mild climate, great sun exposure and excellent irrigation techniques grows abundant sweet potato crop. Wheat does not grow as well due to the islands sloping terrain.
Adding sweet potatoes to the bread allowed wheat supplies to be stretched out. Balo is Portuguese for cake and a caco is the stone slab used to cook it. The caco was heated over open embers.
Basalt stones were used for cooking the bread because that is what most people owned. Ovens were more costly to build and was not typically owned by the poorer residents.
Balo do Caco Recipe
Bolo do caco is a traditional bread from the Madiera island in Portugal. It’s a unique but simple bread made using flour, yeast, salt, water and sweet potatoes.
Ingredients
- Flour - 2 lbs
- Sweet potatoes (large and pureed) - 2
- Baker's yeast - 1 oz.
- Water - as needed
- Salt - as needed
- Butter (softened) - 2 oz.
- Garlic (chopped finely) - 1 clove
- Parsley (chopped fine) - 1 sprig
Instructions
- Mix the ingredients, adding the water gradually until it forms a compact mixture. If the mixture is too wet add more flour.
- Knead well for a few minutes
- Let the dough sit out for a few hours, If opting to ferment for a few days, put the dough in the fridge.
- Roll the dough into smaller balls then flatten
- Let the discs rest.
- Cook on a hot dry pan, flipping over when the bottom side has formed a browned crust.
- Cook the top side to match the other.
- Cut the hot bread in half, lengthwise
- Serve with a generous layer butter topped with the garlic and parsley.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 501Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 134mgCarbohydrates: 94gFiber: 5gSugar: 2gProtein: 14g
Nutrition is provided and calculated by Nutritionix. It is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimation.