Serves 8
History brought back to life! Try this traditional South African pot bread next time you go camping or have a braai at home. Bread made without yeast is simply not as good as bread that is made with yeast and left to rise slowly. This pot bread requires no kneading and is dead easy to mix. Measure all the dry ingredients at home, except the yeast, and mix the bread on site. If you have time for a slow rise, mix with cold water, otherwise to speed up the rising, mix with lukewarm water.
Products in this recipe

Garlic & Herb Seasoning

You will need

4 cups (500 g) flour (all white or ½ white and ½ nutty wheat)
1 T (15 ml) Ina Paarman’s Garlic & Herb Seasoning
1 T (15 ml) sugar
10 g pkt instant dried yeast
1 egg
± 2 cups (500 ml) lukewarm water
2 T (30 ml) canola oil

Ina’s Tip

To give the bread the complex flavour of slow rising, replace ½ cup of the water with beer and add 1 T (15 ml) of vinegar.
Guide to Potjie sizes:

  • Size 1 = 2 persons
  • Size 2 = 4 persons
  • Size 3 = 6 persons
  • Size 4 = 8 persons

Method

Grease the inside of a No. 2 or No. 3 flat-bottomed black iron pot with oil and spray with a non-stick spray. We used a Cadac cast iron bread pot 18 cm x 11 cm x 12 cm deep.
Combine all the dry ingredients with the instant yeast. Make a well in the flour. Mix the egg, lukewarm water and oil together and add to dry ingredients.
Stir with a strong wooden spoon to form a soft dough.
Pour the dough into the pot. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
Bake over a slow fire with some extra coals on the lid to brown the top of the bread, or bake in the oven at 190°C for 1 hour.
It also works well on a Weber braai with the lid closed.

Variations

Add ½ cup (125 ml) grated cheese and a 400 g tin sweet corn. Reduce the water by ½ cup (125 ml)
Fry spoonfuls of the risen mixture in deep oil for vetkoek.
To obtain the firmer dough required for kneading and shaping roosterkoek, griddle cakes or stick bread, reduce the water in the recipe.
Use beer in place of the water.
For a sweeter bread add ½ cup (125 ml) raisins.