Veldt Bread, Namibia. Olympic Food Challenge

I was struggling for a decent recipe for Namibia, for the Olympic Food Challenge, as have a couple of other bloggers with smaller African nations, however after a determined search I stumble across this recipe for Veldt Bread or 'Bread of the Wild.

 

Veldt or Veld refers to the wild open spaces of Southern Africa covering South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia. This bread was a creation of European settlers who wanted a quick bread recipe but didn't have any typical raising agent (yeast). This recipe is a blend of techniques from making scones to making bread, It uses baking powder and is quick to make. The recipe that I used gave a very wet dough but after a bit extra flour it sorted itself out, next time I'll add the milk a little at a time and not drop it all in at once.

 

Veldt Bread

Ingredients

50 g butter

450 g wholemeal flour

20 g baking powder 

50 g brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/3 tsp allspice

150 ml skim milk

1 egg, beaten 

1 tsp vegetable oil

Method
Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and then rub in the butter until crumbly.

Make a well in the centre and add the egg and the milk until a soft dough is formed.

Knead well for 5 - 10 minutes

Grease a 900g loaf tin with the oil and shape the dough and place into the tin.

Bake for around 40 minutes at 180C until risen and brown.

Verdict

Slightly dry but very tasty quick bread. spicing is subtle and this stuff is excellent with plenty of butter or honey.

almost forgot....

If you haven't figured it out already Namibia is a southern African nation. A member of the IOC since 1991 and have yet to win a Gold, bagged themselves a few silvers though in 92 and 96.