In days gone by, most bread was baked in an outside oven or Dutch oven made of mud or bricks. On Trek, unless a convenient anthill could be excavated and transformed into a makeshift oven, bread was baked in a heavy cast-iron three-legged pot, an essential piece of camp equipment. This was later replaced by a heavy flat-bottomed pot with straight sides, because it was easier to turn out the bread.
Today potbrood is enjoying a popular revival and is excellent served at a braai or with potjiekos. If you cannot dig a hole to bury the pot in coals, it can be placed on a special cast-iron tripod or a few bricks. Make sure the pot has a flat bottom and straight sides and that the inside surface of the pot is smooth. The cast-iron pot for potbrood should be treated prior to baking.
Potbrood dough is the same as that for other yeast breads. After mixing, the dough is kneaded for about 10 minutes or until the dough leaves the sides of the mixing bowl. Leave the dough in a warm place to rise until double in size. Knock back and shape dough into a ball. Place in a greased, flat-bottomed cast-iron pot and flatten with the hands, making sure the dough fills only 1/3 of the pot. Cover with lid and leave in a warm place until double in bulk. Brush dough with melted butter, replace lid and position pot in a hole on top of a few coals. Place more coals on top of the lid and leave to bake for 45 minutes to l hour until crisply baked.
Note: The dough can be prepared in advance and frozen. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or thaw at room temperature. Once thawed, knock back and leave to rise a second time.
Category: South African Cuisine
Sub Category: Traditional
- Posted19-Oct-2009
- Total Views361
- Word Count402
- Commentvia Twitter
More Recipes/Articles in "South African Cuisine"
- 27-Oct-2009Terms - Alikreukel to Atjar
- Alikreukel to Atjar - Descriptions and photographs where available of South African culinary terms and ingredients including alikreukel, amabele, amadumbe, amagwinya, amanqina, amasi, amatungulu, amazimba, askoek, asyn poeding and atjar…
- Total Views: 1976 | Word Count: 1358
- Continue reading →
- 19-Oct-2009Vetkoek
- Vetkoek (Fat Cake - refers to the method of frying in oil.) or Amagwinya (Zulu Name) is a delightful, typically South African snack - a traditional pastry both in Afrikaans and Zulu culture, it’s basically a mixture of flour, water, sugar and salt which is made into small “balls” and deep-fried until golden brown…
- Total Views: 1617 | Word Count: 226
- Continue reading →
- 19-Oct-2009Potjiekos
- Potjiekos (poy-kee-kawse) is friendly, leisurely food slowly simmered in a cast-iron pot for maximum flavour. Typically South African, it is thought to have originated from Europe at the time of the Eighty Year War (1566-1648) when a shortage of food during the siege of Leiden forced people to cook almost everything they could lay their hands on in a huge communal pot or cauldron…
- Total Views: 1514 | Word Count: 2423
- Continue reading →
- 19-Oct-2009Biltong Drying Box
- Basically, you can make this biltong box any way you please as long as you end up with something that can be opened and closed completely (whether the door is at the top or on the side), and that has holes only in the locations shown…
- Total Views: 1293 | Word Count: 513
- Continue reading →
- 19-Oct-2009Samoosas
- Samoosa (pronounced suh-moo-suh) - A small, spicy, triangular-shaped pie that has been deep-fried in oil. Made by the Indian and Malay communities, samoosas are popular with South Africans in general…
- Total Views: 1199 | Word Count: 1008
- Continue reading →
Follow us on Twitter
