The unlayering of my being

Passport & Plate - Baked 'Bakpot' Bread

South Africa | Thursday, March 13, 2014 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Writing this recipe down was challenging, because whenever we make the bread at home, we do not use any measurements. Rather, we refer to past experiences and intuition to navigate the bread-making process. Also, the measurements used are supposed to feed a family of between 8 and 10 for two days-worth of bread. The recipe therefore makes approximately 3 single loaves of baked bread and a 2.5l sized bowl of boiled bread. This particular recipe, however, will only concentrate on the baked version of the bread as that is my favourite.

Ingredients

2.5kg Cake flour
20ml (4 tsp) Salt
1250ml (5 cups) Warm water
Tomoso (raising agent) [See directions below]
1l (4 cups) Warm water in a bowl to dip hands in for kneading process
Non-stick baking spray

Tomoso Ingredients

500ml (2 cups) Nutty wheat flour
5ml (1 tsp) Yeast
50ml (10 tsp) Sugar
500ml (2 cups) Warm water
Optional: 250ml Joburg Beer [a brand of sorghum beer in South Africa] (to add a little sour taste in the bread)

Making the Tomoso

1. Mix all dry ingredients
2. Then add beer if you are using it and mix well.
3. Finally add the water and also mix well. Close the bowl or container with a lid and place in a warm place, such as by a window getting warmth from the sun or close to a hot stove. Leave for approximately an hour for the mixture to ferment well and rise.

 

How to prepare this recipe
Directions

1. In a plastic bowl mix flour and salt
2. Add the tomoso and mix well. Add the 5 cups of warm water and again ensure the ingredients are mixed well.
3. Start kneading the dough using both hands.

Tip: When kneading the dough, your hands will get sticky with the dough mixture. Keep dipping your hands in a bowl of water (the 1l warm water) to help with the kneading. The dough will finally be ready once, as you keep kneading, your hands pick up less and less of the dough.

4. Close the bowl with a lid. Make sure you have used a plastic bowl as that will help with heat retention.
5. If it is very hot and the sun is out, place the bowl outside directly in the sun. If it is not hot, cover the container with blankets very tightly. Two to three light blankets can be used or one very thick blanket.
6. The dough will be ready once it has risen substantially. It could take anywhere between an hour and two hours. At this point, usually the dough is divided into two sections for both the boiled and baked versions. However, the continuing instructions are only for the baked version.
7. Switch on oven and set to 200° C. Spray baking pans with non-stick baking spray.
8. Wet your hands and place dough in the baking pans in sections.
9. Then, let the baking pans stand for about 10 minutes. This will allow the dough to rise in the pans.
10. Once the oven is very hot, turn it down to 150°C and place the baking pans inside.
11. Baking time should be between 1hr 40min and 2hrs.
12. When the bread is ready, take out the loaves from the pans and sprinkle with water all around.
13. Wet a dishcloth and cover the loaves. Make sure it is very wet. The length of time you leave the loaves covered will depend on how hard of a crust you want. The softer a crust you want, the longer you leave the bread covered and vice versa.

The bread is ready. Enjoy

 

The story behind this recipe
I call this my grandmother’s recipe; although she would think the credit ridiculous. She marvels at the idea that anyone needs written instructions to know how to make simple bread. My grandmother raised me; and 22 years later, the freshly baked scent of her bread creates the trail that reminds me of where home is.

My grandmother has always been the bread-maker, but in my early teens she started asking me to knead the dough as her arthritis-affected hands would ache from the pressure required. At first, she would ask anyone available to help her with this task, but soon she started asking only me. She told me that I had golden hands when it came to kneading. She ascertained this based on the ‘fact’ that whenever I kneaded the dough, it would rise much quicker and seemed to produce more dough.
At first I hated this pedestal. It only meant kneading duty was now solely placed on my shoulders. Or rather my poor hands as I would constantly complain. Yet, secretly I loved that I was the one praised for the miraculous rising of the dough. I am still not convinced by the “golden-kneading-hands” theory, but this privileged position meant that I was different from her other grandchildren. It meant that I got to share a unique experience with her. Even her own children were told they did not measure up to my skills. I loved being the best; even if it was at something that most of my family did not care about. Of course I did not let my grandmother know this. I was too cool for that.

Four years ago I left home for varsity. For the first time I started missing the wafting odours of freshly baked bread. That is when I decided to finally learn how to make the bread from scratch. The baked version of it is without a doubt my favourite bread. In fact, the more nutty wheat flour and sugar you add, the more my taste buds titillate. Furthermore, I am no longer too cool to admit to her that I absolutely love her bread.