make | GHANA | Rae's sweet bread

Hello Februrary! This month we exploring Ghana! Emily's friend Rachel's family are Ghanaian, and the food she talks about always sounds delicious and very exciting! Last week, she very generously treated us to a loaf of sweet bread, which she bought from a bakers in Tottenham.  It was thoroughly enjoyed by the whole family - it's a little bit like hot cross bun bread, but without the raisins.  We enjoyed it toasted, with lots of honey, or in Sarah's case a good dollop of the (totally un-Ghanaian!) gooseberry jam!

Ghanaian food is really diverse, but is generally based around a carbohydrate rich staple food, like plantain, yam or beans, which is served alongside a stew.  Alternatively, you might have a piece of fish, or chicken with a spicy sauce.  Rachel always uses Scotch Bonnet chilli peppers, which are, word of warning to those of you who are heat-sensitive, really HOT.  So, if you can't hack the heat, go for something Ghanaian inspired, and substitute with a green chilli or two instead!

We got ourselves in a creative mood and used our own knowledge of bread recipes, (and the ingredients label on the package) to come up with our own recipe for sweet bread.  Why not have a go and make some for a teatime treat! Yum!

Enjoy today!!

- rosinaviolets    x

Ghanaian Sweet Bread (inspired by Uncle John's Original Sweet Bread from Rachel's Bakery in Tottenham!)

220g strong white bread flour (if you want to go slightly healthier, you can use half white, half wholemeal)
2 x 7g sachets yeast
2 dessert spoons white sugar
pinch of salt
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon oil or margarine
water

900g / 2lb / 23 x 13 x 7 cm loaf tin

• In a bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients.  Make a well in the centre and at the teaspoon of oil or margarine.  Rub it into the dry ingredients.  

• Little by little add water until you get an elastic dough.  If you add too much water and the dough gets too sticky, add a little more flour until you get back to the right consistency.  

• Knead your dough.  Get right in there! Really stretch it up to get that gluten all stretched out.  

• Arrange your dough into a loaf shape.  Take a knife and cut a slit down the middle of the dough, not too deep.  Grease the loaf tin lightly with some oil or margarine.  Place your loaf in the tin.  

• Get a nice clean tea towel and make it a little damp with some warm water.  Lay it over the top of the tin and leave the whole thing somewhere warm to prove for about 45 minutes, until it doubles in size.  

• Preheat your oven to 200C.  

• Place your loaf in the oven to bake for between 30 - 40 minutes.  Keep an eye on it - you don't want it to get too brown.  When it looks done, turn it out of the tin, turn it upside down and tap on the base.  If it sounds hollow, it's done.  Allow to cool before slicing and eating.  Enjoy!