Pão sem mel
Last month I really enjoyed eating repeatedly at Café Bonobo, a vegan restaurant in Porto Alegre, RS. One of the many tasty items served there (you can find out on Twitter exactly when they're baking it) is a pão sem mel, a strictly vegan version of the traditional pão de mel.
Jake has a picture of the original recipe (if you don't have a Flickr account, try this version). I made it yesterday and it came out really well. Here's a transcription of the recipe:
- 3 xícaras farinha de trigo
- 1 xícara de melado
- 1 xícara de açúcar mascavo
- 2 colheres (sopa) de óleo
- 1 pitada de sal
- 1 xícara de água
- 1 colher (sopa) de fermento químico
- 100 g de nozes ou castanhas (opcional)
- 1 colher (sopa) de canela em pó
- cobertura de chocolate meio amargo (opcional)
- 3 cups wheat flour
- 1 cup molasses
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 100 g walnuts or other nuts (optional)
- 1 tbsp powdered cinnamon
- semisweet chocolate coating (optional)
Mistura todos os ingredientes secos. Junta o óleo e o mel[ado] e mistura bem. Adiciona água aos poucos, até ficar cremoso. Adiciona os outros ingredientes, menos o chocolate. Coloca em forma untada com óleo e carinho, leva a assar a 200°C até dourar. Quando esfriar, passar o chocolate derretido (em banho Maria). Dura até 7 a 10 dias em recipiente bem fechado.
And here's my translation:
Mix all dry ingredients. Add oil and molasses and mix well. Add water gradually until creamy. Add remaining ingredients (except chocolate). Place in a well-greased pan. Bake at 200 °C until golden. When cooled, coat with chocolate melted in a double boiler. Lasts up to 7 to 10 days in a well-sealed container.
I think American molasses might be darker and stronger than Brazilian molasses, because my version came out darker in color and a little more molasses-flavored. Americans might want to try to find a lighter molasses or use a bit less than one cup.
Bonobo has some other great desserts too, but I neglected to get the recipes for those.
