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Ghana butterbread
Soft buttery sweet loaf
Soft, golden, slightly sweet loaf enriched with butter and milk
Buy a loaf of butterbread from a roadside kiosk in Accra or Kumasi and it comes in a plastic sleeve, still warm, with a shiny golden top and a crumb so soft it tears into feathery strands. Ghanaians eat it for breakfast with sweet milky tea or hot cocoa, toasted with an omelette, spread with groundnut paste or margarine, or with sliced avocado; a hunk with a handful of roasted groundnuts is a favourite road snack. Butter and milk give the richness, a little nutmeg the gentle bakery scent. Under-kneading is what turns it cakey instead of stringy, so keep going until the dough stretches thin. Chef's tip: shape it as four tight balls side by side in the tin, which gives the pull-apart top and an extra-tall rise.
- Total time
- 175 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the dough
- 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour
- ¼ oz instant dried yeast
- 2 ⅞ oz sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup whole milklukewarm (or half evaporated milk, half water)
- 1 egg
- 2 ⅞ oz buttersoftened
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour, ¼ oz instant dried yeast, 2 ⅞ oz sugar, 1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground nutmeg. Add 1 cup whole milk and 1 egg and mix to a soft, sticky dough.
Step 2: Knead for 5 minutes, then knead in 2 ⅞ oz butter bit by bit. Keep kneading for 10 minutes more, until the dough is smooth and stretches into a thin, see-through sheet.
15 minStep 3: Cover and leave in a warm place for 1–1½ hours, until doubled.
75 minStep 5: Set the balls side by side in the tin. Cover and prove for 40–50 minutes, until the dough domes 2 cm above the rim.
45 minStep 6: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Brush the top with 2 tbsp milk.
Step 7: Bake for 30–35 minutes, covering loosely with foil after 20 minutes, until deep golden, the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath and the centre reads 88–194°F.
33 minStep 8: Brush the hot top with ½ oz butter, turn out after 5 minutes and cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
30 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ghana butterbread take?
- About 175 minutes in total: 140 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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