Mielie Bread

[Scythe]

Off topic : What do you guys think of Mielie Bread as an accompanyment to a nice hearty Bean Soup ?

(My babe is making my favourite soup this weekend, maybe I can swing it so I end up getting my first taste of Mielie brood, another of my favourites, in a few years)

[Kevin James]

Kevin please can you send a pic of the braaied lamb??

Hello old boy,

Thought I'd torment you blokes over there with some braaied lamb I did over the weekend.

My missus did the mielie bread thing again and I thought it would be rude not to include a photo of the deboned, marinated lamb that accompanied it with a couple'a bottles of Shiraz.

Trusty old Weber that has seen us through New Zealand, Singapore and now on its last legs in Aussie.

Photo taken in back yard.

It was bloody good if anyone was wondering

[Kevin James]

PS.....Just wondering if you could smell the flavour coming through from the picture?

[Chucky07]

Let me just wipe my slobber off the key board..OK... Please explain to us how the steaming thingy works.

[Kevin James]

Hi Chucky,

Mate, the steaming thing is the way the bread is cooked. With normal bread, people usually bake it, but this method utilises the heat of steam to bake the bread.

Chris Shelton has given some very good pointers in the 4th post on this subject on page 1 of this link.

Once all the preperation has been done for the bread, I cover the top with grease proof paper and then cover that with foil just to keep the water and condensation out of the bread when I start to steam (cook) the bread.

The mielie bread is very moist and the true tatse of the corn comes through beautifully.

The Maori people of New Zealand use steam a lot for their cooking as do a lot of the Pacific Island nations. One of the traditional feasts is called a hangi where very hot rocks are placed in the ground and wet sacks are placed over the rocks to create steam which cooks the food. I have had suckling pigs wrapped in banana leaves done this way and can honestly say it was one of the best meals ever.

Hope this info helps. Feel free to PM me if you need more info.

[chris williams]

Hello old boy,

Thought I'd torment you blokes over there with some braaied lamb I did over the weekend.

My missus did the mielie bread thing again and I thought it would be rude not to include a photo of the deboned, marinated lamb that accompanied it with a couple'a bottles of Shiraz.

Trusty old Weber that has seen us through New Zealand, Singapore and now on its last legs in Aussie.

Photo taken in back yard.

It was bloody good if anyone was wondering

Poeth!!!!

See my PM! Gee that looks good!

Only a shame the Swans getting done by Geelong could have possibly upset your day!

[windknot]

Poeth!!!!

See my PM! Gee that looks good!

Only a shame the Swans getting done by Geelong could have possibly upset your day!

Sies ons werk hier met kos

[pieterkriel]

ok for another variation on the bread try:

1 Sweetcorn the kind that is creamy(for want of discription and mind that forgets the correct naming)
1 cup self raising flour
1 can condensed milk
bit of salt
mix and bake or steam

[andrewbuch]

Bit off topic but also a bit on topic:

Does anybody know a good recipe for a pot bread that can be cooked in a flat bottom cast iron pot, either over the coals or on a gas cooker??


Cheers

Andrew

[Kevin James]

Andrew mate,

Yeah....beer bread works a treat for the Potjie Pot or the Bredie pot (flat bottomed jobbie).

My missus has a recipe somewhere that I'll drag out. There are also some awesome recipes for bread using buttermilk and a host of other additives. One of my favourites that we do when we have friends over for a braai is finely chopped rosemary and olives added to the bread mixture. Serve with virgin olive oil and rock salt as a starter.

*Just a tip that might help immensely is to make sure the fire or the coals are not too hot! The bread burns quite quickly even through the thick pot and stays raw in the middle if they are glowing too much. I have found through experience that building a smaller fire or even taking a few of the smaller coals from the main fire works well for the bread. Also, when doing bread in the flat bottomed pot, it pays to put a few hot coals directly on top of the pot. That way you have heat from the bottom and from the top. It makes a hell of a difference rather than just using heat from below.

To test if the bread is done (usually about 45 minutes - sometimes longer if the coals are a bit cooler) stick a knife into the bread and look to see if it comes out clean. If it is clean....happy days! Take it out of the pot and let it just rest for about 15 minutes. Stops condensation forming and making bread a bit mushy. Serve with heaps of butter!

Beautiful......

Ok fellas....here we go!

*550ml white bread flour
*600ml cracked wheat
*5ml salt
*1 packet instant yeast
*teaspoon of caraway seeds (it's optional, but they do make a difference)
*350ml beer warmed (3500ml for the chef!)
*30ml honey (You can use sugar here, but the honey gives a great taste)
I usually dissolve it in the warm water.
*15ml melted butter
*100ml warm water

Mix flour, cracked wheat, salt, yeast and caraway seeds together in a bowl.
Heat can/bottle of beer slightly. (Put it next to the fire for 10 minutes.)
Mix this beer with the honey, melted butter and warm water and add to the stuff in bowl.

Stir this for some time until dough is manageable.
This is a bit of a pain in the arse the next step.....
Turn the dough you have made onto a floured surface and knead for about 4 minutes or until the dough is smooth and comes away from the board easily.
Make this into a ball shape, flatten the top slightly and place this into a buttered potjie/bredie pot.

NB! Brush dough and inside of lid with melted butter.
Place lid on potjie and let the dough stand for about 30/45 minutes in a warm spot until it has doubled in size.
(I usually put the potjie inside the car if the car is in the sun) Keeps ants and other 'tasties' out of the bread <grin>

Place the potjie on slow fire/coals with a few coals on top of lid to bake it.