Bolo do caco, simple rolls that look a bit like English muffins, are flatbreads from the Portuguese island of Madeira. Bolo means cake in Portuguese and caco is the stone hotplate on which they’re traditionally cooked. On Madeira bolo do caco are typically served with lashings of garlic and parsley butter and also popular filled with octopus, grilled meat or for the classic prego steak sandwiches. They’re also great for dunking into soups, stews and dishes like clams cooked in white wine. You can make the dough for these Madeiran flatbreads a day ahead, divide it into balls, dust with flour and refrigerate overnight in zip-lock bags (it freezes well too). Then remove the dough from the bags to a flour-dusted plate, cover and set aside for 30 minutes or so to come to room temperature before cooking. As this is a bread dough, it’s best to be precise about the amount of sweet potato used, so cut off any excess and reserve it for another dish. Each potato and batch of flour is slightly different, so some doughs will be stickier than others, dust your work surface and the balls of dough with just enough extra flour to stop them sticking. Try a glass of northern Italian varietal arneis with buttered bolo do caco. I like the one from Cupitts Estate made with fruit from the Canberra District, it’s structured and juicy and works a treat with the rich garlic butter whatever filling or topping you choose for your Madeiran flatbreads.
Makes 8 pieces
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