The smell of bread baking when coming home from school is one of my fond childhood memories; something I took for granted until I grew up and learnt that not everyone was as blessed as I was by growing up in a loving home with parents who encouraged and nurtured us, as well as gave us the freedom to be ourselves!
A traditional South African bread called Ujeqe or Steam bread made by our housekeeper, which is absolutely delicious.
My four brothers would always have friends around for a rugby or cricket match in the garden and thick slices of hot bread would be cut and shared with everyone; often with a thick layer of homemade jam or preserves.
Mom Lily was one of the few Moms who baked her own bread, and this was a special treat for all the friends.
Mom would often send a loaf of hot bread home with one of the boys whose mother was a good friend and always said it tasted like cake to her family!
Sour Dough Bread
Guess what my brothers would buy with their pocket money every month end?
Yep, I think you can guess the answer to that - store bought soft and spongy white bread!
Aren't us human beings strange; always longing for something we don't have, similarly thinking the grass is always greener on the other side when most of us can create our own little havens right here at home!
Mom and Gran were my role models and allowed me to cook and bake from a young age.
As I grew older I would prepare dinner, often really weird concoctions, but my Dad who was a real softie would finish his whole plate of food and tell me how tasty it was ;)
The rest of us would eat those meals with long teeth and one by one leave the table and quietly tip our remaining food into the garbage bin to fill up on bread afterwards!
Dad's kind reaction encouraged me to do better till I eventually got it right, and the food was scoffed in no time by everyone.
Bread baked in tins
Delicious Cheese Bread
I tried my hand at Bread Art a little while back, am keen to try a different design next time.
A healthy loaf of Seed Bread
I will tell you how to make another kind of bread which is healthy and really delicious plus a speedy method as it only has to rise once.
This method however would not be good for those with gluten intolerance as the rising process is sped up which according to the Netflix Documentary Cooked is the real culprit of gluten intolerance; while others blame it on the weed spray Roundup; both these make for interesting reading and is much food for thought.
Oats & Honey Bread
- 4 cups Stone Ground Brown Bread Flour
- 1/2 cup Wheat Bran
- 3/4 cup Rolled Oats
- 1/2 cup Flax Seeds
- 1 tsp Salt
- 10 gram Dry yeast
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- 2 Tbsp melted Butter
- 400 ml Lukewarm Water
Mix all dry ingredients except yeast and make a well in the centre.
Place yeast inside well.
Mix Honey, Butter and Water and pour onto the yeast and dry ingredients.
Knead till dough comes together.
Place into sprayed bread pan, score top of bread if you wish, sprinkle with oats and leave to rise.
Bake at 180°C for approx 45 minutes.
Bread is always at its best when still warm; those butter curls did not last long and soon started melting.
To end off, one lesson I learnt during our hard lockdown was the value of sitting around the table as a family and enjoying a meal together as that's when the real talking happened!
It's known that something special happens when people share a meal together; therefore food is the one thing that not only feeds one physically but also draws people together emotionally.
BON APPETIT MY FRIENDS
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