Chakalaka Bread

Made with a tin of chakalaka this has got to be an amazing braai bread. 

It couldn't be simpler to make and is delicious without being over spicy.

Holiday Braai Bread or Chakalaka Bread

Ingredients:
4 Eggs
1 x 410 g tin of Mild and Spicy Chakalaka
500 g Self Raising Flour
10 ml Robertsons Mixed Herbs
10 ml Robertsons Chicken Spice

Instructions:
1. Beat eggs together in a mixing bowl until fluffy.
2. Stir in the Chakalaka, flour, Robertsons Mixed Herbs and Robertsons Chicken Spice, stirring with a metal spoon until ingredients are just combined.
3. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 35 minutes at 180°C or until cooked through.
This bread is best when eaten warm on the same day it is made.

This recipe came from Beverley Ann Swanepoel via Bon Appetit met Rita

Traditional Mealie Bread

Ingredients:

half cup melted butter
2 beaten eggs
240g self raising flour
1 tin (425g) whole corn kernels
1 tin (425g) creamed sweet corn
1 cup sour cream or plain yoghurt

Method:
mix, butter, eggs, flour and sour cream / yoghurt in a bowl
add sweet corn and whole corn and mix well
bake in 180g, buttered bread pan for 45 min at 180 C until golden brown, serve with butter as an accompaniment to a braai or serve with the jam or jelly of your choice, i love it with whole apricot jam.

Apple Cinnamon Bread

Ingredients:
80ml brown sugar (not packed)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
190ml white sugar
125g butter, softened
2 eggs
7.5ml teaspoons vanilla extract
375ml all-purpose flour
10ml teaspoons baking powder
125ml milk
1 apple, peeled and chopped

Method:
Preheat oven to 180˚C. Grease and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside. Beat white sugar and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, until incorporated; add vanilla extract.

Combine flour and baking powder together in another bowl; stir into creamed butter mixture. Mix milk into batter until smooth. Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Next add half the apples and half the brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Lightly pat apple mixture into batter.

Pour the remaining batter over apple layer; top with remaining apples and add more brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Lightly pat apples into batter; swirl brown sugar mixture through apples using a finger or spoon.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes.

The Easiest Pizza Dough

Cottage Cheese Dill Bread

This cottage cheese dill bread is so easy to make.

It's a batter bread, not a yeast bread, 

so it only takes about 15 minutes to prepare and about 50 minutes to bake.

Ingredients:
500ml flour
10ml baking powder
2.5ml baking soda
2.5ml salt
250ml cottage cheese
2 eggs
90ml milk
60ml sugar
60g melted butter
45ml minced fresh or dry dill
2.5ml onion powder (optional)
2.5ml garlic powder (optional)

Method:
Preheat oven to 180°C . Lightly butter a medium sized loaf pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, onion and garlic powders (if using) in a medium-large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese, eggs, milk, sweetening, and melted butter. Beat well. Add to the dry ingredients along with the dill, and mix just enough to thoroughly blend. The batter will be a little stiff.

Spread the batter evenly into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a butter knife inserted all the way into the centre comes out clean. After removing bread from oven, rest for 10 minutes before removing from loaf pan. Cool on rack an additional 30 minutes before slicing.

Bread for a Festive Occasion

(Original recipe in Bulgarian from Eva Toneva)

Ingredients:

10ml dry instant yeast

15ml sugar or honey

80ml warm milk

500ml flour, plus extra for kneading and flouring

5ml salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

125ml warm milk (extra)

30ml olive oil

2.5ml vinegar or lemon juice

125g butter, melted and cooled

Glaze

1 egg yolk

30ml milk

Method:

Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1/3 cup warm milk, cover and leave in a warm place to rise 10 minutes.

In another bowl, sift the flour and salt together. Make a well in the middle and add beaten eggs into it, the remaining warm milk, olive oil, vinegar and yeast mixture. Knead the dough with your hands or in your mixer until it separates from the sides of the bowl. Remove dough, place on lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until it becomes a soft, pliable dough. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a towel and leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume – about an hour.

Punch risen dough and transfer on a floured surface, divide dough into 2 equal parts. Divide each of these again into 4, so you have 8 pieces of dough altogether.

Roll each piece of dough out into a roughly rectangular shape with a thickness of 3-5 mm. Brush cooled, melted butter over each piece. Set aside remaining butter for later.

Place one piece of rectangular dough over another one and start to roll into a cylinder. Do the same with the rest of the dough; you will end up with 4 cylindrical rolls altogether.

Cut each roll into three pieces in this way – slice at both ends of the roll about 1.5 inch long each, and put these two pieces aside. Then cut the middle part of the roll into 4 triangles.

Preheat oven to 180˚C. Grease or line a large baking tray. In the middle of the tray, arrange the cut ends of the rolls around each other to form a circle, placing the cut sides down. Arrange the cut triangles to completely surround the middle circle. Cover with towel and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for about 30-40 minutes.

Beat the yolk with the milk with a fork to form a glaze and brush top of the bread with the glaze. (You can sprinkle with sesame seeds or other dry toppings at this point.)

Bake bread for 20-30 minutes, reducing the temperature to 150˚C after 10 minutes in the oven.

Brush bread with melted butter as soon as it comes out of the oven, cover with a towel and leave to cool for 10-15 minutes before eating.

Grandma's Buttermilk Rusks

Ingredients:

Self-raising flour 2 Kg

3 cups sugar

500 g Butter 

750 ml Buttermilk

5 large eggs

Baking powder 15ml

5ml salt

Method:

Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl.

Beat the sugar, eggs and salt together very well.

Melt the butter.

Add buttermilk to egg mixture and whisk, then add melted butter / margarine to. Beat well.

Add egg mixture to flour and mix. Knead lightly.

If you do not use biscuit oven trays like mine in the picture it, roll dough into balls and place in greased baking dish.

Leave it for ½ hour to rise. Bake 1 hour at 180 ° C.

Break with a fork / knife and place in oven at 100 ° C until well dried out (about 6 hours). 

Grilled Chicken Panzanella

Panzanella is a Tuscan salad of bread and tomatoes popular in the summer. 

It includes chunks of soaked stale bread and tomatoes, sometimes also onions and basil, dressed with olive oil and vinegar.

Use good quality, ripe tomatoes for the best results. 

If the salad seems dry after allowing it to rest for half an hour, mix up a half quantity of the dressing and add to the salad until suitably moistened and the flavour is enhanced.

Ingredients:

1 (9-ounce) baguette, halved lengthwise
16 ounces boneless, skinless, chicken breast (about 2 large breast halves)
10 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds tomatoes (about 4 to 5 large), cored, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1 English cucumber, halved, cut into 1/2-inch half moons
1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
3/4 cup basil leaves, roughly torn
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Method:

Heat grill to moderate heat. Place baguette halves on grill, cut side down, and grill until lightly toasted. Transfer to cutting board and let cool. Cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes and reserve.

Rub chicken with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill both sides until just cooked through (160°F). Transfer to cutting board and let rest 10 minutes. Cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes.

Place tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, olives, basil, bread, and chicken in a large bowl. Whisk remaining 9 tablespoons oil, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl until combined.

Pour over salad and toss thoroughly to moisten. Let salad sit 15 minutes. Season to taste and serve.

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Cinnamon Apple Pie Bread

Ingredients:

80ml light brown sugar

5ml ground cinnamon

160ml white sugar

125g butter, softened

2 eggs

7.5ml vanilla extract

375ml flour

10ml baking powder

125ml milk

1 apple - Granny Smith are good - peeled and chopped

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180˚C

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside.

Beat together the butter and white sugar in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. 

Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, until incorporated.

Add the vanilla and stir until well mixed.

Combine flour and baking powder in another bowl. Stir in the creamed butter mixture. Mix the milk into the batter until it is silky smooth.

Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Top this batter layer with half the apples and half the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Lightly push the apples into the batter.

Pour the remaining batter over the apple layer and top with the remaining apples and cinnamon sugar. Lightly push the apples into the batter, swirling the cinnamon sugar through the apples using a clean finger.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. If you notice the top of the loaf getting too brown, cover loosely with tin foil and continue baking until the inside of the loaf is done. 

Banana Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips

Ingredients:

2/3 cup melted butter
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
3 ripe bananas, smashed
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated fresh zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C.

Beat butter and sugar. Add in banana, eggs and vanilla. 

In a separate bowl whisk flour, baking soda and cinnamon. 

Add the dry  ingredients to the wet. 

Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips.

Pour into 2 large, greased loaf pans (5x9 or larger).

Bake at 180C for 1 hour or longer, until done.

You can also use for mini muffins or muffins. Mini muffins take 10 to 15 minutes. 

Roti

Roti is a flat unleavened bread that is thought to have its origins in the Indus Valley culture of some 5000 years past. Archaeological evidence has shown that wheat was first cultivated in Mesopotamia, but it was very soon transported to the Indus Valley civilisation, where the people developed a simple dough made with roughly milled wheat by mixed with water. This grainy stiff dough was then cooked over a hot stone heated by fire.

Not much has changed as today the same bread is made almost as it was back in ancient times, but now it is baked over what is called a tawa (or tava), a large flat or convex disc-shaped metal griddle, or it is put on the side of a tandoor, an extremely hot clay oven heated with wood or charcoal. Lacking one of these traditional cooking methods, these flat breads can be dry-fried in a heavy-based frying pan.

The dough mixed today may have the addition of a little oil and salt and the flour used can vary from wheat flour, to millet flour, to channa or gram flour made from split dried chick peas, to cornmeal, or a combination of any of these; even whole cooked lentils, vegetables or herbs may be added and spices like turmeric or whole seed spices like cumin and fennel, for example, are often included in the mixture. In South Africa mealie meal, a course flour made from white maize, is also used in the mix.

Roti have been taken all over the world by the peoples of the Indians subcontinent, even to places like the Caribbean, where there is a large population of Indian descendants in Trinidad and Roti is proclaimed the national dish. In Durban, South Africa, I remember you could get roti from an Indian take-away rolled up into an envelope and filled with either chicken, mutton, keema, bean or lentil curry. Delicious!

As there are so many ways of making this simple bread, I will be sharing a number of recipes and you can choose how simple or complicated you want to make it.

Wholemeal Wheat Roti
Ingredients:
125g wholemeal flour
75ml warm water
5ml ghee or vegetable oil

Method:
Mix the flour with the warm water. Add the ghee or vegetable oil and knead thoroughly for about 7-8 minutes until a soft, smooth texture is achieved. Cover and set aside for 1 hour to rest. Shape the dough into golf ball sized balls and roll each out into a thin flat circle, about 6 inches in diameter. Cook each individually in a hot dry frying pan for about 2 minutes on each side, until lightly browned. Serve warm, brushed with butter. Makes 4-5 Roti.

Tandoori Roti
Ingredients:
350g fine white bread flour or wholemeal flour
5ml salt
2ml hot chilli powder or tandoori masala
250ml water
30-45ml melted ghee or butter for brushing

Method:
Sift the flour, salt and chilli powder into a large bowl. Add the water and mix to a soft dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 3-4 minutes until smooth. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rest for an hour.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 6 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Press into a larger round with the palm of your hand. cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 230C. Place 3 baking sheets in the oven to heat. Roll the roti into 6 inch circles and place 2 on each baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. The roti are ready when light brown bubbles appear on the surface of the bread. Brush with ghee or butter and serve warm.

If you don't want heat in your roti, you could replace the chilli with garam masala, ground cinnamon or ground cardamom.

White Roti
Ingredients:
60ml mealie meal
15ml ghee
250ml boiling water
30ml double cream
5ml salt
500ml all purpose white flour
melted ghee for brushing

Method:

Pour the boiling water over the mealie meal and allow it to cool. Add the cream, ghee and salt and mix well. Add the flour and knead to a soft dough. Cover with cling film and set aside for an hour.

Divide the dough into 4 sections and roll each out to a circle 8-9 inches in diameter. Brush with melted ghee and put on a hot griddle, turning over several times until the roti is lightly freckled. Brush again with melted ghee and cook a little longer on both sides until the roti has golden brown freckles dotting evenly against a light background. Serve warm.

Brown Roti
Ingredients:
250ml white flour
250ml wholemeal flour
15ml ghee
5ml salt
185ml water
60ml milk
melted ghee for brushing

Method:

Mix together the two flours and add salt and rub in the ghee. Heat the milk and water together till hot, but not too hot to work with. Mix into the flour with the fingers and knead to a soft dough.

Divide dough into four sections and roll each out to a circle 8-9 inches in diameter. Brush with melted ghee and cook on a hot griddle, turning to cook both sides, until dotted with golden brown freckles. Brush with melted ghee and serve warm.

Millet Roti
Ingredients:
250ml millet flour (bajra)
a pinch of salt
5ml ghee
cold water to make a soft dough
melted ghee for brushing

Method:

Sift the flour and sprinkle with salt. Rub in the ghee. Mix to a soft dough with cold water. Grease a piece of cling film and pat the dough on it to a circle of about 8 inches in diameter. Turn the roti onto a hot griddle, remove the cling film and cook on both sides until golden brown. Brush with melted ghee and serve warm.

Chana Roti
Ingredients:
250ml gram flour
250ml wholewheat flour
1 green chilli, seeded and finely chopped
half an onion, finely chopped
15ml chopped fresh coriander
2ml ground turmeric
2ml salt
15ml vegetable oil
120-150ml lukewarm water
Melted butter for brushing


Method:

Mix the gram flour, wholewheat flour, chilli, onion, coriander, turmeric and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the oil. Add sufficient water to make a pliable soft dough. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, covered in cling film, and leave to rest for an hour.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and divide into four pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Roll out each ball to a circle of about 6-7 inches in diameter. Heat a griddle or a heavy-based frying pan for a few minuted until hot. Brush both sides of a circle of dough with melted butter and cook for about a minute each side. Brush the cooked roti with more melted butter and place on a warmed plate. Keep warm in a low oven while cooking the remaining circles of dough. Serve warm.

If you don't want heat in your roti, substitute the chopped chilli with 2-3ml fennel seeds.

Spinach Roti
Ingredients:
5ml cumin seeds
60g wilted spinach with all the water squeezed out
250g wholewheat flour
salt
melted ghee to serve

Method:

Toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan for a few seconds, then grind them lightly with the back of a spoon to break them up. Mix together the cumin, spinach, flour and salt to taste and add water, a little at a time, to make a dough. Divide the dough into 6 separate balls and roll each into a flat circle. Toast the discs on each side in a dry frying pan until they are browned. Brush each with a little melted ghee and serve warm.

West Indian Golden Roti
Ingredients:
200g plain flour
100g gram or split pea flour
5ml turmeric
5ml salt

Method:

Combine the plain flour, gram flour, turmeric and salt in a bowl and add just enough tepid water to give the mixture a dough consistency. Take a handful of dough and roll it out to a pancake shape. Shallow fry it in hot oil until golden brown on both sides, then place on kitchen paper and cover with a plate to keep warm while cooking the rest of the dough into roti. Use as wraps for a tasty curry.

Papadums

These crispy crunchy discs of Indian bread, also known as poppadoms, depending on your pronunciation, are widely available, either ready-cooked or ready-to-cook. In India they are commonly served with vegetarian meals. If you wonder down a market street in Delhi of Mumbai, you'll find them sold by street vendors along with other delicious fare. Plain or flavoured with spices or seasoned with black or red pepper, they are a firm favourite with any spicy meal. The dough is generally made from dried pulses, but can also be made from potato or semolina. After the dough is rolled thinly the resulting discs are left to dry on the sun, to be cooked later either by frying or being placed on a hot grill. Either way they are golden in seconds, ready to be devoured. Broken into shards, they also make great dip chips.

Ingredients:
2 litres lentil flour (urad, moong, chana or gram dhal flour)
5ml freshly ground black pepper
5ml ground cumin
5ml asafoetida (hing)
5ml salt
60-65ml water
vegetable oil for frying

Method:

Preheat the oven to 100-120C.

Mix flour, pepper, cumin and salt. Add enough of the water to form a dough and knead until you have a smooth and elastic texture. Roll the dough into a sausage of about 1.5-2 inch diameter. Using and oiled thread, split the sausage into 10-15 discs and roll out one disc at a time on a lightly oiled surface (or between two layers of cling film) to a very thin circle - the thinner you can make them, the crispier they will be.

Dry the papadums in the oven for an hour and store in an air tight container.

To prepare, Fry the papadums in vegetable oil until they are crispy and golden. Drain on kitchen paper towel and serve warm.

Parathas

Central and North Pakistan are known for the making of the fried breads known as parathas. They are served with curries, roast and kebabs. They may seem a little fiddly to make, but the end result speaks for itself.

Ingredients:
750ml flour
5ml salt
15ml ghee
cold water

flour for dusting
soft butter to spread
ghee for greasing the griddle or frying pan

Method:

Sift the flour and salt, then rub in the ghee to a crumb consistency. Add just enough water to mix the crumb into a firm dough. Put it in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film, leaving to stand for 3 hours.

Knead on a floured board for 15 minutes until it is soft and elastic. Divide into 6 balls and roll each out like a roti or pancake to the size of a dinner plate. Spread with soft butter.

With a knife, make a slit into each circle of dough from centre to edge - a radius cut. Fold over about 25-30 degrees and roll up until you have a cone shape. Put the cone base on the rolling board with the cone tip on top and press down onto the board, twisting about 90 degrees as you do so to form a twirled dough bun that resembles a hair bun or winkle shell.

Leave these 'buns' to rest for about half an hour before finally rolling out to plate size circles again. Grease a griddle with ghee and grill (or in a large greased heavy-based frying pan) until freckled and golden.

Serve hot.

Naan Bread

Although naan is a flat bread, it is a leavened bread - that is it's made with yeast. The word 'naan' comes from the Persian and means 'bread' or 'food'. It is one of the most popular breads in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, which has a perfect softness that allows one to tear it in pieces with which a curry can be scooped up and eaten or your plate can be wiped with for the last bit of flavour at the end of a meal. Naan comes in many flavours and varieties, but is always delicious. It's traditionally baked in a 'tandoor', a form of clay oven, however they can be baked in a normal electric or gas oven.

Ingredients:
20g fresh yeast
2ml salt
15ml sugar
250ml lukewarm water
100ml sugar
50ml vegetable oil
60ml ghee
2 eggs
15ml fennel seed
345ml water
345ml milk (room temperature)
1750ml bread flour
Extra butter and salt to glaze and garnish.

Method:

Mix the yeast, 15ml sugar, 2ml salt and warm water together in a bowl and set it aside until it is all frothy.

Cream together the oil, 100ml sugar and the ghee in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. add in the fennel seeds and mi them into the batter along with the yeast mixture, and the extra water and milk.

Fold in the flour to create a dough, folding it all into a ball. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and leave it in a warm place to double in size.

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead until it is smooth and elastic. Divide it into 6 portions, moulding each into a disc of about 8 inches and about 1 inch high. Leave these to rise and double again.

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Roll each disc out to a flat oblong or pear shaped flat-bread and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and smear each naan with a little butter and sprinkle with a pinch of salt while the bread is still warm.

Poppy Seed Bloomer

This British version of the chunky baton loaf found all over Europe is a rustic white bread. It is made by a slower rising method than most breads with less yeast than usual, which produces a loaf with fuller flavour that keeps for longer than other breads. The dough takes 8 hours to rise, so you will need to start this bread in good time before it is required, but the wait is worth it in the end.

Poppy seeds are not the only topping you could use; sesame seeds are also used as are caraway seeds or fennel, and finely grated hard cheeses like parmesan and mature cheddar, or even very finely chopped onion or garlic and herbs.

Ingredients:
675g unbleached white bread flour
10ml salt
15g fresh yeast
430ml water

For the Topping:
2.5ml salt
30ml water
poppy seeds for sprinkling

Method:
Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Mix the yeast and 150ml of the water in a jug. When well creamed, add the remaining water.

Sift the flour and salt toghether in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture to the well in the flour and mix, gradually incorporating the surrounding flour until the mixture forms a firm dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surafce and knead the dough well for at least 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise at room temperature for 5-6 hours, or until doubled in size.

Knock back the dough, turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead it forcefully for about 5 minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave to rise again for 2 hours or longer at room temperature.

Knock the dough back again and repeat the kneading process. Leave the dough to rest for 5 minutes, then roll out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Roll the dough up from one long side and shape it into a square ended thick baton shape about 13 x 5 inches.

Place the baton seam side up on a lighly floured baking sheet, cover and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Turn the loaf over and place on the prepared greased baking sheet. Plump up by tucking the dough under at the sides and ends. Using a sharp knife, cut 6 diagonal slashes on the top.

Cover and leave to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 230C.

Mix the salt and water for the topping and brush it over the bread to glaze. Sprinkle with poppy seeds.

Spray the oven with water and bake the bread for 20 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 200C and bake for a further 25 minutes until the loaf is golden on top. Tranfer to a wire rack and cool.

Cook's Tip:

The traditional cracked, crusty appearnace of this loaf is not easy to achieve in a domestic oven, but the result is best achieved by spraying the oven with water before baking. If the base of the laof is not very crusty at the end of baking, turn the loaf over on the baking sheet, switch off the oven and leave the loaf in the oven for about 5-10 minutes.

For a more rustic laof, replace up to half the flour with wholemeal bread flour and sprinkle the top with bran and your choice of other topping.

Bara Brith

Welsh Fruit Cake – ‘Bara’ meaning bread and ‘Brith’ meaning speckled. This is the national fruit loaf of Wales. The history to this speckled bread is said to originate from that of a Welsh cook who sprinkled some dried fruit and spice into a coarse meal dough. This simple addition transformed a plain piece of dough into a moist, well flavoured and visually appealing fruit bread.

Ingredients:
350g Mixed Fruit
500ml strong tea
Zest of 1 lemon
2ml ground cinnamon
2ml ground ginger
1ml ground nutmeg
1ml ground allspice
285g. Self-Rising Flour
225g. light Muscovado Sugar
1 Egg, Beaten

Method:

Preheat the oven to 150C.

Measure fruit into a bowl. Pour over hot tea. Leave overnight.
Strain the fruit, reserving the liquid.

Stir lemon zest, spices, flour, sugar and egg into the fruit, mix well.

Add the reserved liquid until the batter is a soft dropping consistency.
Lightly grease a large loaf pan. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top of the batter level.

Bake for 1½ to 1¾ hours, until well risen and firm to the touch.
Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack. Leave to cool completely.

Stokbrood

Stokbrood, or stick bread in English, are strips of bread dough wound around green sticks and cooked on the braai grid over the coals. They are always popular with the children. Sticks can be cut from bushes in the garden or in the veld – just make sure the bushes you take the sticks from are not poisonous, like oleander, for example. Usually sticks with bark need to have the bark removed or the bread will cook firmly onto the stick. You could also use doweling rods, but these will need to be soaked in water so that they do not burn.

Ingredients:

200ml water

1 litre basic bread ready-mix

Method:

Mix the ingredients together to make a dough and knead until elastic. Break off a piece of dough and roll it into a thin sausage. Wrap the sausage around a stick and braai it over moderate coals for 20 minutes, turning from time to time to brown all the way around.

Potbrood

Potbrood is a bread loaf baked in a flat bottomed cast iron pot over open coals of a braai – pot bread. This bread is a regular accompaniment to a braai or barbecue, baked over a part of the braai where the coals are not too hot.

Ingredients:

2 eggs

325ml buttermilk

2 litres basic bread ready-mix

Method:

Beat together the eggs and buttermilk. Add to the basic bread ready-mix in a large bowl and mix to a dough. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball and place it in a greased, flat bottomed cast iron pot, leaving room around the sides of the dough ball for expansion. Place the pot with the lid on among moderate coals, putting a few coals on top of the lid. Bake the loaf for about 45 minutes. To test for readiness, knock on the top of the loaf – it should sound hollow.

Roosterkoek

These are little roasted bread rolls cooked over open coals on the braai.

Ingredients:

1 litre Basic bread ready-mix

2 eggs

150ml water

Method:

Place the basic bread ready-mix in a large bowl. Beat the eggs and water and add to the mix, mixing well. Knead into a firm, elastic dough. Roll the dough out to a rectangle of about 12 x 8 inches. Cut the rectangle down the middle lengthwise, then across twice to give 6 small flat bread rolls. These can be braaied on a grid over low coals for about 20 minutes, turning over half way through the cooking.

Basic Bread Ready-Mix

This basic bread ready mix can also be used for making a regular bread loaf, for Lay-Z Mealie Bread, or for ‘Roosterkoek’, ‘Potbrood’, and ‘Stokbrood’.

Ingredients:

1 kg white or brown or white bread flour

30ml baking powder

125ml skim milk powder

10ml salt

250g butter

Method:

Combine all the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub into the dry ingredients with the fingertips. This mixture can be stored in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 2 months.

Makes 2.5 litres