Bushveld Fastest Flop-proof Bread

Bushveld Bread: Fastest Flop-proof Bread Ever!

Too Hot to Cut

Nothing Fancy; Just Bake

Buried in a fire-filled pit in the wild or just baked in your apartment oven, this bushveld bread is a no-knead, whole-grain, crusty delight. And seriously fast to make!

The whole process, from store cupboard to table takes an hour, max. Nothing fancy-schmancy needed. I use a big, cheap plastic bowl, teaspoon, cup (to measure flour and water) and an ordinary table knife to mix. It can be baked in a cast iron pot if you are burying it in the coals, or on a baking tray in the oven.
 

Oven Baked

Ingredients for Bushveld Bread

• 400ml (1¾ C) warm water
• 15ml (1T) raw sugar
• 7ml (1½ tsp) salt
• 2 sachets (2T) Active Dry Yeast
• 3 – 5 cups whole grain flour

Conversion Table

Instructions

Preheat oven to 220°C (450°F). Put the salt, sugar, and yeast in your bowl and pour over the warm water, stir to dissolve. Cover with something – clean dish towel, dinner plate or ? and leave it for about 10 minutes. It will bubble a bit, this is the sponge.

Now, using the table knife to stir, add the flour – 3 cups first and then a little bit at a time, until it forms a dense lump of dough. If it’s too stiff to stir nicely, you can use your (clean) hands and mix until it’s not sticky. Add a little flour or a little water as necessary. Don’t knead, the idea is to have a stiffish mass you can form into one or two bread-type shapes. Put some oil or butter on your baking sheet and put your shaped busveld bread on this. Cover with a cloth and leave to rest for 20 minutes. Sometimes I get fancy and make slashes on the top before putting it in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or until your bushveld bread sounds hollow when tapped.
 

Warm and Crusty

Even Your Kid Can Bake It

I’ve had this bushveld bread recipe for years, from where… I can’t remember but my notes say I first made this in January 2014 (I thought I had the best but this is better by far) – Why did I wait so long? My first attempt used roughly 5 cups of ordinary brown bread flour, 1½ Tsp plain sugar as I didn’t have any raw and 350 ml of warm water. And made one long loaf. Baked about 30 minutes at 200 to 230 degrees, Celsius.

Since then, I’ve made this new bushveld bread every week. We don’t buy bread at all anymore – this produces such a wonderful result with no additives and even with oven troubles, I’ve never had a flop yet. Healthy, rustic and filling with a good crumb, slices well and lasts until it’s gone – no mold – like the new stuff.