Lockdown: Healthy Home Made Breads
LIFESTYLE - During the Covid-19 pandemic we should all aim to eat healthier. Try your hand at these SA Heart and Stroke Foundation-approved bread recipes and score a healthier alternative for your daily needs at home. It's a win-win.
Rotis
It is often thought that rotis are fatty and it is time-consuming to make. The rotis in this recipe are easy to make and don’t require a lot of fat.
Try a healthier Roti recipe from the SA Heart and Stroke Foundation
Picture: Wikimedia Commons
1 cup (250ml) cake flour
1 cup (250ml) wholewheat flour
2 tbsp (30ml) sunflower oil
½ tsp (2.5ml) salt
1 tsp (5ml) ground cumin (optional)
1 cup (250ml) boiling water
2 tsp (10ml) sunflower oil for frying
Method
Place the flours in a large mixing bowl. Rub the 2 tbsp of oil, salt and cumin into the flour with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Mix water into the flour mixture and knead to form a soft dough.
Divide the dough into 8 balls and roll each ball out into a circle.
Fold the circle in half and half again, and roll into a circle again.
Repeat with all the balls and cover with a clean tea towel until ready to fry.
For a perfect circle, cut the rotis with the lid of a small pot. Heat a thin layer of oil over medium heat in a frying pan. Fry the rotis on one side until they puff up.
Turn over and fry on the other side until lightly golden brown.
Serve as a starch with any meat dish of your choice.
This is delicious with curries or as a wrap.
Mielie Bread
needpix.com
130g or 1 cup (250ml) coarse mealie meal
8g or 2 tsp (10ml) baking powder
120g or 1 cup (250ml) cake flour
½ tsp or (2.5ml) cayenne pepper or paprika, to taste
3g or ½ tsp (2.5ml) salt
250g or 1 cup (250ml) low-fat maas or buttermilk
150g or 3 eggs, beaten
50g or ¼ cup (60ml) sunflower oil
1 x 410g tin cream-style sweetcorn
Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC and lightly grease a 1.5-litre bread tin. Place dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Combine the maas, eggs, oil and sweetcorn. Mix into the dry ingredients until well blended.
Spoon into the bread tin. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes. Turn out on to a cooling rack.
Note: Grate 2 to 3 baby marrows and add to the mixture. Stir ¼ cup grated cheese, preferably reduced fat, into the batter or sprinkle half on top.
Home-made Brown Bread
pxfuel.com
780g or 6½ cups (6 x 250 ml + 125ml) brown bread flour
20g or ¼ cup (60ml) crushed wheat (optional)
1 x 10g sachet instant yeast
3g or ½ tsp (2.5ml) salt
4g or 1 tsp (5ml) sugar
36g or 3 tbsp (45ml) sunflower oil
about 700ml lukewarm water
23g or ¼ cup (60ml) oats
Method
Mix flour, wheat, yeast, salt and sugar together in a bowl.
Stir in the oil and 2 cups of the water. If necessary, add more water to form a dough that you can knead. It must not be too sticky or too dry. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 10 minutes or until a smooth soft dough forms. If you press the dough lightly with your finger, it should spring back.
Place in a clean bowl and cover with cling wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Knock down the dough with your knuckles. Knead lightly (step 6). Lightly grease a 2-litre bread tin. Shape dough into a loaf and place in tin.
Cover with a clean tea towel and allow to rise for 20 to 30 minutes or until doubled in size (step 7).
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200ºC. Brush bread with a little milk and sprinkle oats on top.
Bake for 45 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped.
Turn out on to a cooling rack.
Note:
Pot bread: Grease a cast iron pot and bake the bread over medium coals.
Roosterkoek: Divide dough into 12 to 15 balls at the end of step6. Braai for a few minutes over medium coals until golden brown on both sides or until it sounds hollow when tapped.
Tray-baked pizza: Prepare as above up to the end of step 6. Roll out until about ½cm thick and press into a lightly greased baking tray. Prick and bake at 200ºC for 10 to 15 minutes or until just cooked.
Spread with tomato paste, sprinkle with ¼ cup of grated cheese, preferably reduced-fat and any of your favourite pizza toppings. Green peppers, tomatoes, left-over chicken and sliced onions are good options. Bake again until the cheese is melted.
Ugeqe (steamed bread): At step7, lightly grease a bowl that fits inside a large pot. Place the dough inside.
Place the bowl in the pot and carefully pour boiling water around the bowl to reach halfway up the sides of the bowl.
Cover with a lid and simmer gently for about 1½hours or until baked through.
- With permission from the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa