Paõ de Milho (Broa)

Pao de Milho (Broa)
This bread is "my version" of Portuguese corn bread Paõ de Milho - Broa. It is not traditionally braided, and the next one will be in the traditional low-round shape. I braided this one "because I could."

I discovered the bread and the corn starch glaze while browsing Artisan Bread in Five Minutes Per Day. Versions of the bread recipe are repeated in a number of bread books as well as the internet. As you would guess, there are a lot of interpretations. The amount of corn meal and the texture of the corn meal varies a lot. Virtually, all recipes advise that the bread is heavy, and some say to toast the bread. They are right about heavy, but the bread is really good tasting.

All recipes are made with white flour, yeast, corn meal (or polenta) in some proportion, milk, and oil or butter. Some versions of the bread boil the milk while other versions pour boiling water over the corn meal. Some versions use a poolish which has been pre-fermented for 30 minutes or longer. This version deviates from the traditional Broa with the addition of:

Two eggs to serve as a binder because gluten free breads are notoriously crumbly
Two tablespoons of flax meal to serve as an additional binder
Corn starch wash which was supposed to add a chewiness. Normally, this bread does not have a wash, but you can see that the corn starch gives the bread a nice sheen.

Rather than using fluid milk, I used powdered milk so that I could pour boiling water over the corn meal and flax seed meal. Alternatively, you could pour boiling milk over these two components.

Ingredients
1/2 cup	3 ounces	White or yellow corn meal
2 Tablespoons	1/2 ounce	Flax meal
1/3 cup	2.1 ounces	Non fat dry milk powder
2- 3/4 cups less 3 Tablespoons	10 ounces	Gluten free flour
3- 1/2 Tablespoons	1 ounce	Sweet rice flour
1-1/2 teaspoons	0.3 ounces	Xanthan gum
1-1/2 teaspoons	0.3 ounces	Guar gum or additional xanthan gum if you do not have guar gum
1/4 cup	1.8 ounces	White sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons or 1 Package	0.35 Ounces	Instant yeast (rapid rise)
1 teaspoon	0.1 ounces	Kosher salt
1 cup	8 fluid ounces	Boiling water
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons	3 fluid ounces	Warm water (110° F)
2 large		Eggs warmed to room temperature. Separate whites from yolks.
1 teaspoon		Cider or rice vinegar
3 Tablespoons	1.6 ounces	Softened butter or margarine. You can use olive oil to be more traditional.
1/2 teaspoon		Corn starch for the corn starch wash
1/2 cup	4 fluid ounces	Water for the corn starch wash
Additional		Butter or margarine for coating the baking pan
Additional		Brown rice flour for dusting the bread pan

Prepare either one 9" spring form pan or one 9" X 5" bread loaf pan by coating it with butter or margarine and then sprinkling brown rice flour over the butter. This will aid the release of the bread from the pan.
Place the corn meal and flax seed into the work bowl of a stand mixer, but remove the bowl from the base of the mixer.
Pour the 1 cup of boiling water over the mixture and stir with a spoon. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then transfer the work bowl to the mixer.
Next add the dry milk powder and sugar. Blend until mixed.
Next add the gluten free flour, sweet rice flour, and gums and mix.
When the bowl has cooled so that it is warm to the touch but not extremely hot, add the remainder of the water, vinegar, egg whites, and yeast. Blend thoroughly.
Allow the mixture to rest for 5 - 10 minutes or longer.
Add the butter or margarine, salt and egg yolks. Blend at medium speed.
Scrape the dough into the baking pan, cover and place it into a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk - about 1 hour.
Mix a little of the 1/2 cup of water with the corn starch to make a smooth paste. Using a small whisk, whisk the corn starch paste into the remainder of the 1/2 cup of water. Microwave until the mixture boils. This is the corn starch wash.
About 15 minutes before the dough has fully risen pre-heat your oven to 375° F. Convection cycle is OK.
When the dough has fully risen, carefully brush the corn starch glaze onto the dough. Be careful so that you do not glue the bread to the pan.
For a 9" X 5" pan, bake for 30 minutes, and then remove the bread from the oven. Coat the bread again with the corn starch glaze and return the bread to the oven. For a 9" springform the loaf will be flatter and cooking times will vary. If you have a bread thermometer, it should register just above 200 degrees.
Bake for an additional 10 minutes and check the bread for doneness. The internal temperature should just exceed 200° F.
Cool the bread on a rack. Slice and serve when the bread is cool.