The breads
Pão alentejano
The bread of the Alentejo plains: a large, high-domed wheat sourdough with a thick, dusty crust and an open, slightly sour crumb that stays fresh for three days. Ours is 78% hydration, made with a Portuguese T65 flour and 10% whole wheat, fermented for twenty hours between the mixer and the oven, and baked at 250°C directly on the stone. It is the loaf we would keep if we could only keep one. Sold whole (900 g, €4.80) or as a half (€2.60).
Broa de milho
The corn bread of the north. Broa is dense, moist and faintly sweet, made from finely ground yellow cornmeal scalded with boiling water, then mixed with rye and a small amount of wheat for structure. It has a crackled, matte crust and a tight crumb. It wants strong cheese, sardines or a bowl of caldo verde. 700 g, €4.20.
Carcaça
The Lisbon roll: a small, oval, yeasted white roll with a crisp crust and a soft interior, split down the middle. It is what a bifana or a tosta mista is built on, and what most Lisboetas buy on the way to work. 70 g, €0.35 each or ten for €3.00. First batch at 06:30, second at 11:30.
Seeded sourdough
Same culture as the alentejano, with 20% rye flour and a crust rolled in sunflower, pumpkin, sesame and linseed. Slightly denser, toasts superbly, and the loaf most often bought for the week. 800 g, €5.40.
Pão de Deus
A sweet, enriched bun with a coconut crown, which we also count as a pastry. It is on the bread list because so many people buy it as a breakfast roll, split and buttered. €1.60.
| Bread | Flour | Leaven | Weight | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pão alentejano | T65 wheat, 10% whole wheat | Sourdough, 20 h | 900 g | €4.80 | Everything; keeps 3 days |
| Broa de milho | Cornmeal, rye, wheat | Sourdough + yeast | 700 g | €4.20 | Cheese, soup, sardines |
| Carcaça | T55 wheat | Yeast, 3 h | 70 g | €0.35 | Sandwiches, tostas |
| Seeded sourdough | T65 wheat, 20% rye | Sourdough, 20 h | 800 g | €5.40 | Toast, keeps 4 days |
| Pão de Deus | T55 wheat, enriched | Yeast, 2 h | 90 g | €1.60 | Breakfast, ham and cheese |
When each comes out
- 06:30 — carcaças, first batch. Gone by nine on weekdays.
- 08:00 — pão alentejano, seeded sourdough and broa. Best bought between eight and ten while the crust still crackles.
- 08:30 — pão de Deus.
- 11:30 — carcaças, second batch, for the lunch sandwiches.
- After 17:00 — any remaining whole loaves are sold at half price. What is left at close goes to a neighbourhood food bank via Re-food.
Sourdough or yeast?
Sourdough loaves
- Complex flavour, better crust, keeps three to four days without plastic.
- The long ferment breaks down some of the starches many people find hard to digest.
- Takes a full day to make, so costs more and cannot be re-baked on demand.
Yeasted rolls
- Soft, neutral, fast: three hours from mixer to bag.
- The right texture for a bifana or a tosta; sourdough would be too chewy.
- Stale by the next morning. Freeze what you will not eat today.
The breakfast menu
Breakfast is served all day, because Lisbon eats breakfast all day. Everything is made with the bread above and coffee from the coffee board.
| Dish | Description | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Torrada com manteiga | Thick-cut pão alentejano, grilled, salted butter | €2.40 |
| Tosta mista | Ham and cheese toasted in a carcaça, pressed | €4.20 |
| Ovos mexidos | Two soft scrambled eggs, sourdough toast, chives | €6.50 |
| Granola e iogurte | House granola, Azores yoghurt, seasonal fruit, honey | €5.90 |
| Queijo da Serra e marmelada | Serra da Estrela cheese, quince paste, broa | €6.80 |
| Set: O Clássico | Bica, pastel de nata, torrada | €5.50 |
| Set: Completo | Any coffee, fresh orange juice, ovos mexidos or granola, one pastry | €9.80 |
Lunch, briefly
From noon the carcaças become sandwiches: bifana (thin pork marinated in garlic and white wine, €5.50), sandes de queijo da Serra with rocket (€5.90), and a daily soup with a slice of broa (€4.00). We stop lunch service at 15:00 and go back to being a café.
Keeping bread at home
Store sourdough cut side down on a board, or in a paper bag, never in plastic and never in the fridge. It will be good for three days; on day four, toast it. Broa keeps a week wrapped in a cloth. Carcaças should be eaten the day they are bought, or frozen within hours and revived in a hot oven for six minutes.