Bolo do caco
Round flatbread from Madeira, cooked on a hot stone and served with garlic butter
Bolo do caco is a round flatbread from Madeira and Porto Santo, Portugal. Made with flour, sweet potato, salt, sugar, and yeast, it is shaped like a cake and cooked on a flat basalt stone. It is often served warm with garlic butter or used as bread for sandwiches, including steak and octopus fillings.
- Cooked on a flat basalt stone called a caco
- Made with sweet potato in the dough
- Served with garlic butter or as sandwich bread
- Traditional to Madeira and Porto Santo
What is Bolo do caco?
Bolo do caco is a round, cake-shaped flatbread from Madeira and Porto Santo. Its dough combines flour, sweet potato, salt, sugar, and yeast. The bread is traditionally cooked on a caco, which is a flat slab of basalt stone, giving it a slightly crisp crust and soft interior. It is usually served with garlic butter spread on top, and sometimes used as the base for sandwiches filled with steak, octopus, or other local foods.
Where does Bolo do caco come from?
This bread comes from the Portuguese islands of Madeira and Porto Santo. Its name comes from its shape—'bolo' means cake in Portuguese—and from the caco, the basalt stone slab used for baking. The bread’s roots are local, shaped by the island’s ingredients and cooking traditions. The use of sweet potato in the dough is a regional touch that sets it apart from other flatbreads.
How is Bolo do caco made?
To make bolo do caco, flour, mashed sweet potato, salt, sugar, and yeast are mixed into a dough. After rising, the dough is shaped into rounds and flattened. Traditionally, these rounds are cooked directly on a hot caco, a flat basalt stone, which gives the bread a unique texture and flavor. The bread is often split and spread with garlic butter while still warm.
How and when is Bolo do caco eaten?
Bolo do caco is commonly served as a snack or as part of a meal. It is often enjoyed warm with garlic butter, but can also be used as sandwich bread. Popular fillings include steak (as in the prego sandwich), octopus, or local fried cornmeal (milho frito). It can be eaten on its own or as an accompaniment to other dishes.
Kinds of Bolo do caco
While the classic version is made with sweet potato, flour, and yeast, bolo do caco can be adapted with different fillings or toppings. It is sometimes used as sandwich bread for various meats or seafood. The method of cooking on a stone is a defining feature, though some modern versions may use other surfaces.
What Bolo do caco means
Bolo do caco is a familiar part of daily life in Madeira and Porto Santo. It is found in homes, bakeries, and restaurants, and is often shared with visitors as a taste of the islands. Its connection to local ingredients and traditional cooking methods makes it a symbol of Madeiran food culture.
Questions people ask about Bolo do caco
What is bolo do caco made of?
It is made from flour, sweet potato, salt, sugar, and yeast. Garlic and butter are often added as a topping.
Where does bolo do caco come from?
Bolo do caco is from the Portuguese islands of Madeira and Porto Santo.
How is bolo do caco traditionally cooked?
It is cooked on a flat basalt stone called a caco, which gives the bread its name and unique texture.
How is bolo do caco usually served?
It is commonly served with garlic butter, or used as sandwich bread with fillings like steak or octopus.
Is bolo do caco vegetarian?
The bread itself is vegetarian, as it contains no meat or fish. It is often served with garlic butter.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Bolo do caco", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). Thali rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes, and it is not dietary or allergy advice: recipes differ from cook to cook. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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