Bread with Chorizo
Pão com chouriço (PT-BR: pão com linguiça portuguesa) is a typical Portuguese bread, made with basic bread dough and filled with slices of chouriço – a very common pork sausage in Portugal. In Brazil, chouriço is also known as linguiça portuguesa – not to be confused with blood sausage.
- 400 grams of wheat flour
- 240 ml of filtered water at room temperature (60% hydration)
- 4 grams of dry yeast (1% of the weight of the flour)
- 8 grams of salt (2% of the weight of the flour)
- 200 grams of chorizo | Portuguese sausage (Calabrese sausage or pepperoni can be used)
- Prepare the ingredients (mise en place): Separate all the ingredients and measure them, having them properly ready for the start of the recipe. This step is important for the success of your recipe, as it avoids surprises in the middle of the process.
- Dissolving yeast: place the yeast and water in a large bowl and dissolve the yeast in the water.
- Mix flour 01: add the salt and half of the flour and mix until you get a thick cream.
- Mix flour 02: add the rest of the flour and mix with a spatula until a stiff, still somewhat loose dough forms.
- Kneading 01: Mix the bread dough ingredients and knead for about 20 minutes. The dough can also be kneaded in a stand mixer – in this case at high speed for 8 minutes.
- Kneading 02: with kneading, the dough will become smooth and elastic.
- Resting 01: Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, a plate, or a damp towel. Let the dough rise for about 1 to 2 hours, until it has doubled in size;
- Resting time: the time may vary depending on the ambient temperature, yeast quality, and other factors. The dough is ready when it has (more or less) doubled in size.
- Removing the skin: run the tip of a paring knife across the surface of the chorizo, cutting through the skin. Cut the ends of the chorizo and pull the skin off. The chorizo skin is edible, so this step is optional.
- Slicing: cut the chorizo into very thin slices, 1mm to 2mm thick; pre-sliced chorizo (or chorizo sausage) can also be used, and has the advantage of already being very thinly sliced.
- Cutting the dough: the dough weighs approximately 630 grams. Cut it into 6 pieces of about 105 grams each to make 6 sausage rolls. Or cut them to the size you want.
- Roll out the dough: roll out the dough with your hands or a rolling pin. Leave it about 15cm wide. The dough should be thin so that the ratio of dough to chorizo is ideal (we don't want a "doughy" bread, but a crispy one).
- Filling: Fill with the chorizo slices - 2 or 3 rows of slices close to one of the edges.
- Roll: roll the bread until it forms a "cigar" shape.
- Resting step 2: Place the loaves in a baking pan lined with parchment paper (or a non-stick pan); cover the loaves with a damp towel and let them rest for another 30 minutes; meanwhile, preheat the oven to the maximum temperature (250 degrees Celsius or more).
- Preheat: While the bread rests, preheat the oven to 250 degrees Celsius (maximum oven temperature).
- Cut and bake: After 30 minutes, make small cuts on the surface of the loaves and bake them in the oven.
- Baking: Bake the loaves in the middle of the oven for about 20 minutes, until golden brown.
- Eating: Eat the bread while it's still warm or reheat it when serving. The bread can also be frozen and reheated.
- Final result: a crispy bread with a good ratio of dough to chorizo.
In Brazil, Calabrese sausage can also replace chorizo/Portuguese sausage in the making of this bread.
Chorizo
Chorizo is a sausage made with pork meat and fat, seasoned with paprika, wine, and garlic, which is cured and lightly smoked. There are versions where pig's blood is added.
Brazilian Calabrese sausage and American pepperoni are possible substitutes for Portuguese chorizo. But while Portuguese chorizo is made exclusively from pork, these other two sausages are made with a mixture of meats (pork, beef, poultry).
In Brazil, "chouriço" (or "morcilha") refers to a sausage made with animal blood. This is not the type of sausage used in the Portuguese "pão com chouriço" recipe.
Recipe for Bread with Chorizo | Bread with Portuguese or Calabrese Sausage
Our recipe for bread with chorizo | bread with Portuguese sausage follows the traditional recipe from Portugal. It's made with basic bread dough and filled with thin slices of chorizo. We recommend using a spicy chorizo to add even more flavor to the bread.
The bread dough is rolled out until it's as thin as pizza dough and filled with a generous amount of chorizo. This will give us a bread with a good ratio of dough to chorizo.
In Brazil, Portuguese sausage is commonly known as Portuguese sausage. If Portuguese sausage is unavailable, it can be substituted with smoked Calabrese sausage or Calabrese sausage, provided they are sliced very thinly.
Bread dough
Filling
DOUGH FOR BREAD WITH CHORIZO
Mix flour 02: add the rest of the flour and mix with a spatula until a stiff, still somewhat uneven dough forms.
