Askoek is a traditional South African recipe for a classic simple yeasted bread with buttermilk that is traditionally cooked in the dying embers of a fire or barbecue. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic South African version of: Askoek.
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This is a classic South African bread that, traditionally, was shaped into small loaves and cooked by baking in the ashes of a braai (barbecue) or camp fire, hence the name, 'ash-cooked' or 'ash-cake'.
Ingredients:
500g white bread flour
1 tsp active, dried, yeast
1 tbsp buttermilk (or Greek yoghurt)
25g unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp salt
325ml cold water
Method:
Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, then add all the remaining dry ingredients. Form a well in the centre, add the melted butter, buttermilk and water then stir together with a flat-bladed knife to mix. Bring the ingredients together as a dough then turn onto a floured work surface and knead for about 8 to 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Form into a ball, place in a greased bowl, cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and set aside in a warm place for about 80 minutes, or until doubled in volume.
If you are going to make traditional ashkoek, then you will have to wait until the embers of your campfire or barbecue have died down sufficiently to give you a bead of hot, white, ashes.
Once your fire has reached this stage, remove any live coals from the centre of the fire and arrange these around the edge, leaving a circular bed of ash which must be at least 40cm in diameter surrounded by a ring of live coals.
Knock the dough back and pinch off egg-sized pieces. Flatten these into rough disks and set them in the ash to cook. Turn them after 20 minutes so that they can cook on the other side.
When cooked, they will sound hollow when tapped with your fingertips.
