Make the dough in the usual way with either a stand mixer or breadmachine dough setting and allow to rise

Pull the dough up and fold it over itself. Rotate the dough a quarter turn and repeat. Continue turning and folding 2 more times.

Transfer to oiled bowl. Cover with cloth and leave for about 30 minutes until doubled in size

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces about 120g each. Form the dough into a ball and and roll between the palms of your hands to tighten the ball. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with a floured couche cloth. Fold the cloth over to cover. Leave for 20 minutes.

Shape the dough: Flatten the dough ball into a 6″/15cm round. Make a deep crease across the middle with the side of your hand. Gently pull opposite ends of the crease to stretch the dough into a slight oval. Then fold along the the crease into a semi-circle. Twist the ends of the half-moon into fat points and, using your thumbs, flatten them a bit to seal.

Transfer the papo seco to the cloth, seam-side down. arranging them in a rows, several cm apart and pulling the cloth between each row to create a ridge that will hold the shape of the rolls during proofing. If you have made baguettes, this is very similar.

Cover the rolls with the couche (or a different one if the 1st one is not big enough) and leave to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place until almost doubled in size.

Meanwhile, place baking stone in the centre of the over. Heat the oven to 260°C and allow the oven and stone heat up thoroughly

Sprinkle cornmeal on a baking peel. Transfer a few of the papo secos to the peel seam-side up. Place the front edge of the peel at the back of the baking stone and quickly yank it toward you to shift the dough onto the baking stone. Repeat with the remaining papo secos.

Place baking dish with hot water at the bottom of the oven. If you oven has a steam setting, you can use this instead.

Turn down the heat setting to 220°C.