Bolo do Caco – Sweet Potato Bread from Madeira
Anyone who has been to Madeira will be familiar with Bolo do caco, a traditional flatbread found on both the Island of Madeira, and the Island of Ponto Santo.
If you are in Madeira, you may be lucky enough to find a place that still bakes Bolo do caco the traditional way, on a “caco” a hot, flat basalt stone slab. Most places now use a metal plate heated with a gas flame instead.
Bolo do Caco are very easy to make at home, no hot stone required! All you need is a skillet or griddle. I find a cast iron skillet works best as it gives you a good, even heating.
Bolo do caco is a delicious sweet potato flatbread that has a crips, thin crust and a soft and airy inside, a bit like a large English muffin.
It’s usually served warm with lots of garlic butter melted into all the nooks and crannies. It also makes a great sandwich bun, filled with your favorite filling.
My Bolo do Caco are a bit more of a yellow/ orange colour compared to ones found in Madeira. That’s simply down to the different variety of sweet potato that I used. Madeiran sweet potatoes have a much lighter coloured flesh than the bright orange Ontario sweet potato I used for mine.
Although the colour is different, they have the same great taste and texture as the Madeiran ones!
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 115 grams mashed sweet potato See Notes.
- 11 ml active dry yeast
- 5 ml sugar optional
- 453 grams all purpose flour plus more for dusting
- 5 ml kosher salt
- 250 ml water
- Canola oil for greasing the bowl
Instructions
- Heat 60 ml of the water to 38 to 43°C. Add the dry yeast and let stand for 10 – 15 minutes.Note: I like to dissolve sugar in the water before adding the yeast to help feed the yeast.
- In a large bowl stir together the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and the rest of the cold water. Using a rubber spatula, stir until combined but the dough is still shaggy, about 1 minute. Add the mashed sweet potato, using your hand continue to mix for another minute until the sweet potato is somewhat incorporated. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and continue to knead until the dough is smooth and the sweet potato is fully incorporated, about 4-5 minutes.
- Clean and dry the bowl, then lightly oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and set aside until doubled in size, about 90 – 120 minutes.
- Lightly flour a work surface, Divide the dough onto 8 equal size pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a rough ball, then flatten into a disc roughly 13-15 cm across. Dust lightly with flour, cover and let rise until they are about 2.5 – 3.5 cm thick, about 45 minutes.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet or griddle over high heat. Place one of the loaves in the pan and cook for about 2-3 minutes a side. The bread should be golden brown, slightly charred in places. Repeat with the remaining loaves. Cover with a dry towel and allow to cool to room temperature.Once cooled, the loaves can be stored in an airtight container. The loaves will keep, refrigerated 5-6 days or frozen for 2-3 months.
- To serve the traditional way, use a fork or serrated knife to split the loaves in half like an English muffin.Slather the inside of each loaf with some garlic parsley butter. Close the loaves back up, and reheat in a warm skillet, about 2 minutes per side.Or, use the bolo do caco as a buns for sandwiches. Split the loaf and fill with your favorite sandwich filling and warm on a panini press or in a toaster oven.