Bolos Lêvedos - Portuguese Sweet Muffins
You find these muffins in places with an Azorean Portuguese population, like SE Massachusetts, where I've eaten plenty of them. Crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. Sort of a cross between Portuguese Sweet Bread and English Muffins. But better. Great at breakfast or tea-time, with or without butter. These are tarted up a bit with a biga and some lemon peel.
Biga
AP Flour 162 g 100%
Water 105 g 65%
Salt 1 g 0.5%
IDY 0.2g 0.1% (pinch)
Final Dough
AP Flour 506 g 100%
Milk 101 g 20%
Salt 10 g 2%
IDY 5 g 1%
Eggs 167 g 33% (3 large eggs)
Sugar 157 g 31%
Butter, Melted 44 g 8.75%
Lemon Zest 1 g 0.5%
Biga 268 g 53% (all of the biga)
Method
- Mix biga ingredients, ferment overnight.
- Combine all ingredients. Mix until good gluten development, then bulk ferment 1.5 hours, folding once or twice if necessary.
- Scale at about 105g, shape into balls, then flatten to maybe 1/2 inch thick. Proof about 45 minutes.
- Grill over low-medium heat until browned and cooked all the way through. Do not use too much heat or the middle will not cook properly. It takes me about 15 minutes to grill a batch.