How to make authentic Pão de água: Portuguese bread recipe revealed

My friend is a master at baking homemade bread. She makes delicious sourdough and experiments with various additions. However, since returning from holiday, the only bread that matters to her is the one for which she returned a recipe from Portugal. The recipe is very simple, and the result is excellent.

Everyone who has been to Portugal has tried this bread. You can buy it in every bakery. "Pão de água" is a yeast-based wheat bread that is light and well-risen. Unfortunately, I didn't go to Portugal this year, but I enjoyed eating a slice of this bread at my friend's house. It tastes great with just butter, and you can also lightly salt it, which is how the Portuguese often eat it.

Portuguese bread stands out for its delicate, soft, and crunchy crust. You can achieve this by mixing only three ingredients: flour, water, and yeast. There's just one more addition, which is salt. Collecting them won't be difficult, but you have to put effort into kneading the dough. The preparation starts by mixing water and flour; at this stage, the dough doesn’t have a smooth or elastic structure yet and resembles a sticky mass. Then, you have to set it aside to allow the flour to soak well, which shortens the kneading time. Only after this stage do you add yeast and salt, then knead the dough. It is watery, where it gets its Portuguese name, which, when translated, means "water bread."

Ingredients:

      
• 450g bread flour,
• 240ml water,
• 4g dried yeast,
• 7g (half a teaspoon) salt.

Method:

1. Add water to the bread flour and mix until thoroughly combined. Cover the dough with a cloth and let it rest at room temperature for 40 minutes.
2. Add salt and yeast to the dough and knead vigorously for about 15 minutes or 8-10 minutes using a kitchen mixer. The dough is sticky, but it's better not to add extra flour.
3. Cover the kneaded dough with a cloth again and let it rise. This can take anywhere from 60 to 120 minutes, depending on the ambient temperature. The dough should double in size.
4. Sprinkle a large baking tray with flour and pour the risen dough directly onto it. Shape it into a long or round loaf.
5. Put the tray into an oven preheated to 250°C with steam for about 12-15 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 230°C and bake for 15-20 minutes. The bread should be golden brown and slightly crispy.