Here I share with you my homemade bread recipe. Traditionally homemade bread was made every Sunday in most households for a light supper in the evening. I serve my bread with corned beef, polony, cheese or left over Sunday roast.
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive!
This absolutely delicious Spiced Fruit Loaf not only tastes amazing but the aroma, gently wafting from the oven, makes the whole house smell incredible. Cinnamon and bread filled with tasty dried fruit, baking together.
Who needs air freshener when you can bake this wonderful Spiced Fruit Loaf.
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive!
Spiced Fruit Loaf Served With Pickled Fish
In a large mixing bowl add the following:
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
2 eggs
3 TBSP of soft butter
1/2 tsp salt
3 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP mixed spice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1TBSP finely grated orange peel
1 TBSP finely grated lemon peel
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup raisins
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 packet yeast
Spiced Fruit Loaf
Method:
Mix together to form a dough.
Knead for about 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to rise until double in size.
When it is risen knock down lightly and decide into 10 equal balls.
Grease a large loaf tin with butter.
Put the balls of dough into the baking tin and leave to rise again for about 30 minutes.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200°C for about 20 – 25 minutes.
For the glaze
Boil together juice of one orange and 3 TBSP of honey / golden syrup until sticky. Brush over warm loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven.
Soft garlic and herb enriched rolls, topped with olive oil, served with a whole Camembert. Tear pieces of rolls, dip in the melted cheese and enjoy.
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive!
Ingredients:
4 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 packet instant yeast
1 ½ cups lukewarm water
50g butter
1 Camembert
1 large garlic clove
2 green chillies
Few sprigs rosemary
Olive oil
Method:
Combine the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add the water and mix until a dough forms. Knead on a clean flour-dusted surface for 10 minutes, or until smooth and springy. Place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and prove in a warm place for 2 hours.
Grease an oven proof dish or baking tray with the butter. Cut the rind of the top of the Camembert. Peel and finely chop the garlic and chillies. Poke a few holes in the cheese, stuff a little of the garlic and chillies with a sprig of rosemary. Place the cheese in the centre of the tray.
Divide the dough into small balls, arrange the dough balls around the cheese, leaving a bit of a space between in ball. Scatter the remainder of the garlic, chillies and rosemary over the rolls. Brush lightly with olive oil. Cover loosely with plastic and leave for to rise again for about an hour.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C for about 25 minutes or until the rolls are brown and the Camembert has fully melted. Using a pastry brush, brush the melted butter over the rolls. Serve immediately.
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our traditions alive!
Fancy making your own bread? Baking homemade bread needn’t be difficult, here’s my easy recipe for a delicious crusty loaf of bread. My recipe makes 2 medium size loaves.
Ingredients:
4 cups bread flour
1 sachet instant yeast (7g)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 ½ – 1 ¾ cups lukewarm water
Oil for greasing
1 Tbsp melted butter
Method:
In a large bowl add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Stir to mix, make a little well in the centre, add the water. Start with one and half cups first. If the dough is too dry add the remaining quarter cup water little bit at a time. You may not need all the water. A wet dough is better than a dry one which will result in a tough bread texture.
Knead well for 10 – 15 minutes. The dough should be smooth and shouldn’t stick to your hands after kneading.
Grease a bowl with little oil. One to two teaspoons oil should be enough. You just want to prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl. Place dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place. Depending on the weather it can take between 1½ to 2 hours.
Punch down. Place in prepared loaf tins, (grease the tins well with oil) and leave to rise until double in volume.
Bake at 190°C for 35-40 minutes.
Turn out and cool on wire rack. To check if the bread is baked through, tap bottom of the loaf, it should sound hollow. Brush melted butter over the loaf whilst still warm.
Shaped in a fluted mould pan
Served with butter and homemade fig jam
Dusted with flour before baking
This bread was made from my basic bread recipe. Shaped in a fluted mould pan, dusted with dry flour before baking. Served with butter and homemade fig jam. Learn how to make my fig jam here.
Dusted with flour before baking
Common bread faults and causes
Lack of volume, heavy and closed texture.
Dough is too tight due to insufficient liquid.
Too much salt added.
Not enough yeast.
Dough over fermented, causing the gas pockets to break down.
Low gluten content due to incorrect flour used
Insufficient kneading or proving
Dough collapsing when placed into the oven
Over proving
Lack of crust colour
Dough over fermented
Lack of salt
Oven too cool
Uneven texture with holes and crust breaks away
Oven too hot
Insufficient proving
Dough left uncovered during proving and surface dried out
Bread is doughy in the middle
Taken out of the oven too early, not enough baking time.
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive!
Romany Creams
Romany Creams, one of South Africans favourite tea time treats. A crunchy chocolate flavoured biscuit sandwich together with good quality chocolate. Traditionally it’s made round but I’ve made them into squares as well! It’s a hit with kids as well. Instead of sandwiching together with chocolate, finish with a colourful smartie on top. Use a drop of chocolate to paste the smartie in place.
Method: Cream the butter, sugar in a large bowl until light and creamy. Add the eggs. Mix well. Add the coco powder and stir to combine. Gradually add the self-raising flour & coconut. Mix by hand to make fairly stiff dough. Roll out dough to 2-3mm thick on a lightly floured surface. Using a fork, scrape lines over the dough to create a slightly rough texture. Cut out round shapes with a biscuit cutter. Transfer onto baking sheets. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for approx 8-10minutes. Allow to the biscuits to cool on a wire rack. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Sandwich two biscuits together using the melted chocolate. Leave to set. Yields approximately 40 complete biscuits
Cook’s Tip: Place a piece of greaseproof paper or plastic wrap over the dough before rolling. This will prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin.
Visit our online store for authentic Cape Malay treats and artisan spice mixtures.
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our traditions alive!
Nothing beats homemade bread straight from the oven. I remember my mom kneading bread every Sunday morning so it can be ready for supper. We’ll have it with polony, cheese, spiced beef or left over roast chicken from lunch. Fond memories of the good old days!
Wholemeal Bread
Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups wholemeal bread flour
1 & 1/2 tspsalt
2 tsps light brown sugar
1 packet instant yeast (7g)
About 1 & 1/2 – 2 cups of lukewarm water
Method:
Tip the flour into a large mixing bowl and all you do is simply sprinkle on the salt, sugar and yeast, mix these together thoroughly, make a well in the center and pour in the lukewarm water.
Mix the warm liquid into the flour gradually to form a dough (the exact amount of water you’ll need will depend on the flour) You can use you hands or a wooden spoon. I prefer using my hands. it is better to have too much water than too little.
Finish off by mixing with your hands until you have a smooth dough that leaves the bowl clean – there should be no bits of flour or dough remaining on the sides of the bowl.
Cover the mixing bowl with a clean plastic bag or cling film and leave to rest in a warm place until double in size.
Knock the dough down, now transfer the dough to a flat surface and stretch it out into an oblong.
Now fit the dough into the tin, pressing it firmly all round the edges so that the top will already be slightly rounded.
Next, sprinkle the surface with a generous dusting of flour, then cover the tin with a damp, clean tea cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes or at room temperature for about an hour.
If you’re making 2 loaves, divide the dough in half before following the steps above and folding it into the tins.
Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 200°C. When the dough has risen to the top of the bread tin or tins, bake the bread for 40 minutes for the big loaf tin or 30 minutes if you using 2 small loaf tins.
When the bread is cooked, turn it out on to a cloth to protect your hands – it will sound hollow when rapped underneath with your knuckles.
Cool the bread on a wire rack and enjoy with toppings of your choice 🙂
Or serve with your favourite bowl of soup
Cook’s Tip:
Makes 1 large loaf or 2 small loaves
I made one round loaf using a round cake tin and made bread rolls with the left over dough.
Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights – Salwaa Smith
Perfect dessert for the cold weather! Takes less than 90 minutes to prepare and bake. This recipe can easily be doubled to serve more than 4 – 6 people.
Ingredients:
4 cups milk
1 cup sago
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg or 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter plus extra for greasing
2 tablespoon custard powder (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar (extra)
@capemalaycooking
Method:
Preheat the oven at 160° Celsius.
Grease a large pudding dish with butter.
Heat milk to nearly boiling, then add sago, salt, and nutmeg or cinnamon.
Simmer over very low heat until sago is transparent.
Mix custard powder with half a cup of water / milk and add to mixture
Add the 1/2 cup sugar, butter and vanilla, and stir in well. Remove from heat.
Separate the eggs, and whisk the yolks. Add yolks to the sago mixture, whisk or mix until combined.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff, and add the extra 1/2 cup sugar slowly, whisking until incorporated.
Gently fold the egg whites into the sago mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 – 45 minutes, until set and the pudding is light brown on top.
As the season of sharing gifts is nearing here is another great idea for homemade treats to give as a gift. Ideal for gifting to the person that has everything 😉
Makes approximately 60 pieces of soft chocolate fudge.
Chocolate Fudge
Ingredients:
400g dark or milk chocolate
1 can condensed milk (497g)
1 Tbsp butter
1 cup icing sugar
55g chopped nuts, optional #capemalaycooking
Method:
Using a heavy based saucepan, break or chop the chocolate into small pieces. Add the condensed milk and butter. Heat over low heat, stirring until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Beat the icing sugar into the mixture until combined. Press the fudge into a 20cm square tin, lined with greaseproof paper, smooth the top and press nuts into the surface. Chill in the fridge for 2 hours. Cut into squares. Alternatively pour the fudge into silicone moulds and leave to set in the refrigerator until set.
I made a number 1 birthday cake for my granddaughter, Aisha, who turned 1 last week. For this cake I made a double batch of my chocolate cake mixture. I drew a number 1 on a A4 paper, cut it out, then shaped the number 1 from there onto the cakes. With the left over cake pieces I made a chocolate trifle.
Chocolate Cake
To make the number 1 cake you will need to make 2 batches of chocolate cake mixture.
Ingredients for 1 cake:
3 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup cooking oil
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup cake flour
Method:
Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a 25cm x 20cm baking tin. In a large mixing bowl and using an electric beater mix together the egg yolk, sugar, water and oil until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the dry ingredients and fold it into the wet ingredients.
Use a clean, dry bowl and whisk, whip the egg whites until stiff. Fold the stiff egg whites into the cake mixture. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared cake tin. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 15-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Now mix and bake the second layer as above.
Cool the cakes on a cooling rack
Draw and cut out a number 1 on an A4 paper
Place the number 1 shape in the centre of the cake, secure with toothpicks. Cut the cake around the number 1
Sandwich the layers together with chocolate butter cream
To make the butter cream you will need
125g soft butter
1 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Enough milk to make it spreadable
Cream the butter until smooth. Add the icing sugar and cocoa powder mix together. Add drops of milk to make the mixture soft and spreadable. Sandwich the 2 layers together using the butter cream.
Spread ganache over the cake
To make the ganache you will need:
400g good quality chocolate
200ml fresh cream
Method:
Pour the cream into a pan and heat until it is about to boil.
Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate.
Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth and glossy. Allow ganache to cool before pouring spreading over the cake.
Decorate with sweets or as you like
I used the left over cake pieces to make a chocolate trifle. I’ll share the recipe in my next post.
Fig Jam / Preserve – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights – Salwaa Smith
Fig Jam
A very easy, no fuss recipe to make wholesome homemade fig jam. No preservatives, you won’t need any anyway, this jam is so good it will be gone in no time. Makes a great gift as well.
Ingredients:
1 kg ripe figs, trimmed and chopped into small pieces
2 cups sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
Rind and juice of 1 large lemon
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