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Breads & Bakes

Homemade Plait (braided) Bread.

1 Comment on Homemade Plait (braided) Bread.

This plait (braided) bread is a MUST in Guyanese households during the Christmas season. And why not… you need something to dip into that Guyanese Pepperpot, to soak up all that gravy and slow-cooked goodness. Here’s my take on this classic homemade bread.

You’ll Need…

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 heaping tablespoon dry active yeast
1 1/4 cup warm milk
1 stick butter (1/2 cup – melted)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon honey

  • tablespoon of melted butter to brush onto the finished bread

I’d recommend watching the video below to following along with the kneading and braiding, as it’s better to watch than try to have me describe the process without overly confusing you.

I warmed the milk (luke warm), then added the sugar, honey and yeast to the milk and allowed it to bloom for 15 minutes.

Did you know… Lukewarm actually comes from the Middle English word lukewarme. It was a combination of “luke” and “warm,” and the “luke” part was an alteration of the Middle English word lew, which meant tepid. Tepid means neither hot nor cold…or about room temperature.

In a large bowl add the flour, salt, melted butter and mix. Add the milk/yeast mixture. Then go in with your hands and knead it to a smooth, soft dough. Yes you can use a dough ring on your electric mixer.

Takes about 8-10 minutes to work the dough. Then cover with plastic wrap and let it proof for about 45-50 minutes in a warm spot in your kitchen – it will double in size.

Punch down the inflated dough and divided into 3 equal parts. Knead into smaller dough balls and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Now form long logs with each being the same lenght and thickness. Please watch the video below showing what I did and how to braid them into the bread. Keep dusting the surface and dough with flour as you work.

Place the braided dough on you lined baking sheet and allow it to rest for 30 minutes (place a towel over it).

It will get bigger (so don’t be alarmed). Now into a 375 F oven – middle rack for about 27-35 minutes. Until golden brown basically! (as oven temperatures will vary)

As soon as it comes out of the oven, brush the top of the bread with the melted butter and get ready to enjoy a comforting (yea I said comforting) slice of heaven.

If you can, please support. And should you have questions about this recipe or anything food related, be sure to Ask Chris.

Breads & Bakes Vegetarian

Fried Bake For Bake And Shark.

61 Comments on Fried Bake For Bake And Shark.

Ever since Andrew Zimmerman raved about the Bake and Shark sandwiches he gobbled down on Maracas beach in Trinidad a few years back, requests for this recipe were overwhelming at times. This prompted me to post a recipe where I cheated a bit and used pizza dough I found at a local grocery store:  Rustic Fry Bake Recipe. I’m not a huge fan of kneading dough, which explains why I used pre-made dough. Today we’ll start off a three part series, where I’ll show you (with the help of my mom…and dad) how to make fried bakes from scratch, the fried shark for the sandwich filling and finally… the creamy coleslaw as the topping.

If you’re like me and intimidated by making dough.. “moms” will show us how simple it is and how easily we can be BEST at making fried bakes. BTW, these may also be known as fry roti, floats and fried dumplings.. very close to johnny cakes as well.

You’ll Need…

3 cups all-purpose flour *
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon yeast (instant)
1 cup water * (warm)
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon margarine or butter
veg oil for frying

Notes: You can certainly use a combo of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour if you’d like… to make it a bit healthier? You may need a bit more water as the flour you’re using may be a bit different than the one I used..adjust accordingly. I ended up using 1 1/4 cups water.

In a large bowl place the flour, yeast, salt, margarine, shortening and baking powder. Use your hands to mix everything together.. break up the margarine and shortening. The flour will take on the consistency of peas. Now start adding the water and form into a smooth dough. Please make sure the water is luke warn to help the yeast activate. It will take about 5 minutes of kneading to form a smooth dough. You can always use your standing mixer or food processor if you wish.

Now cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap to make it air tight and place it in a warm corner of your kitchen. Allow it to ‘rest’ for about 45 minutes. (we dusted the top of the dough with some flour)

After 45 minutes, it’s time to work the dough into smaller dough balls.  All you have to do is break the main dough ball into 5 equal sized smaller balls (like the size of a tennis ball). Place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet (after you smooth them out) and cover with a kitchen towel to ‘rest’ further. All it takes is 15 minutes this time.

It’s now time to shape them into bake-like form and fry them. Set up a sort of station… the frying pan with the vegetable oil and a draining basket lined with paper towels.

Rub a little veg oil on your kitchen counter surface (we won’t be using a rolling pin) and place one of the dough balls.. rub some veg oil on your fingers and start to stretch the dough while pressing to form a 6 inch (diameter) circle. Work from the center out.

Heat about 2 cups of vegetable oil (any oil you like) on med/high and gently add the now formed bakes into the pot. Remember to place it away from your body, when adding it to the hot oil.

As soon as it hits the oil, be prepared to flip them over (my dad used a fork), this way you’ll have evenly fried and shaped fry bales. Allow them to cook for about 3 minutes, flipping them a couple times so each side cooks evenly. You can also spoon the hot oil on the exposed surface if you like.. not really necessary though. You’re looking for a crispy surface and a golden colour.

It’s then time to fish them out of the hot oil and place on the paper towels to drain off the extra oil. Repeat the steps until they are all fried.

See how easy this was? All you have to do now is slice them open and stuff with the fried shark, saltfish buljol or any of your favourite Caribbean dishes. I also like ripping these and eating with curry dishes..especially vegetarian ones.

Stay tuned for the other 2 parts in this bake and shark 3 part series.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.

Desserts

How To Make Banana Nut Bread.

34 Comments on How To Make Banana Nut Bread.

One thing you can’t get away from in the Caribbean is the love and appreciation of bananas. So this banana nut bread is a common visitor in our kitchen whenever we have bananas which are about to go bad (rude house guest though – never sticks around for more than a day and just disappear s without even saying bye). As a boy growing up on the islands I recall always having a bunch of bananas or plantains hung up to ripe in the shed adjacent to our home… watching it closely for the first sign of ‘yellow’ so we could attack. We usually lost out to the many birds in the area who would zero in before we would.

Like the banana fritters recipe I shared with you all a while back, this banana nut bread recipe is great for using ripe bananas which are about to go bad (over ripe).

You’ll Need…

4 ripe bananas
1/2 cup walnuts (chopped)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
4 tablespoon sour cream
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

You can also add some cinnamon and allspice to really give this banana nut bread that unique Caribbean flavor.

Notes: I used really ripe bananas (easier to mush) and it’s a great way to use bananas which are about to go bad. You’re probably wondering about the sour cream, but I assure you it will make this bread very moist and not dry as some banana breads are notorious for.

In a large bowl, place the sugar, salt and butter… we’ll cream it to a smooth consistency. I started off with a spatula but I opted for my hand mixer after, for easier work. If you have a freestanding mixer, remember to keep scraping down the side so you get the lovely creamy consistency we’re hoping for.

Now it’s time to add the eggs, vanilla and sour cream and continue to cream with your hand mixer for a couple minutes.

Now it’s time to add the dry ingredients, but before you do.. in another bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda together. This way they will mix evenly. This is when you would put the cinnamon and nutmeg if you want to add a bit of spice to the final bread. Since I didn’t want to over-work the dough, I did the rest manually with my spatula. Add the flour and in a folding motion.. mix well. You should have a smooth, thick dough by this time. I’m sure you can do this step with your mixer.. but on low speed and not for too long.

It’s now time to mush the bananas to add to the dough. In a large bowl I placed pieces of the peeled bananas and using a potato masher I went to work. It took a few minutes, but at the end I had a smooth banana mash.. ready for the dough.

Before we move on, it’s probably time to pre-heat your oven.. set it at 350 as we want this to bake slowly. Now pour in the mashed banana (puree) into the main batter and fold it in until it’s completely mixed. Remember not to over-mix.

Add the chopped pieces of walnuts and fold in, so every slice of the finished banana nut bread will have a little tasty crunch. I used a silicon baking mold and though I probably didn’t need it, I still hit it with a tiny bit of non stick cooking spray. If you’re using a conventional baking pan, do remember to grease with butter and dust with four.. or baking spray. You’ll notice that I had the baking mold on a cookie sheet.. that’s just for handing purposes (get in and out of the oven).

By now your oven should be ready… place it on the middle rack and allow to bake for 1 hour. After 1 hr it should be fully cooked, but do check with a toothpick. Insert a toothpick into the deepest part of the bread and if it comes out clean, it means it’s fully cooked. Due to variations in everyone’s oven… you may need some additional cooking time. This is exactly what I needed, so I had to keep it in the oven for an additional 15 minutes. You’ll certainly get mad having to wait an additional 15 minutes as your kitchen will have the lovely scent of baked banana nut bread goodness.

Allow to cool (if you can) before slicing and enjoy.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out the latest cooking videos, connect with me on twitter and join our community on facebook. oh yea! leave me a comment below – it’s appreciated.