Trini Fry Bakes #BreadBakers

Light and fluffy, Trini fry bakes are easy to make with just a few simple ingredients. They are one of my favorite snacks from my childhood years in Trinidad. Why they are called bakes when they are always deep fried, I cannot tell you. It remains a mystery to this day.

We moved to Trinidad when I was five years old and thanks to my mom’s adventurous spirit, I was introduced to so many new foods that have become part of our family menu, like curry, fried wontons, stuffed crab, tamarind balls and salt prunes.

My older sister and I were in enrolled in a small school not far from our new home and my mom got busy finding out where to shop and otherwise outfit said home. One of the first things she did was to hire a local lady to help her care for our five-month-old baby sister and to help clean and cook occasional meals. 

I’d get home from school, shuck my uniform and shoes in favor of shorts and bare feet, then run to the kitchen for a snack. On days when bake dough was in evidence, I could hardly wait to hear it hit the oil. I’d retire to the back garden to eat my hot puffy treasure in peace. Good times. 

In Trinidad, fry bakes are eaten with an assortment of other ingredients from plain butter and cheese to fried eggs, smoked herring or saltfish and tomatoes. Fry bakes are also one half of the classic shark and bake, essential to any beach day on the island. 

Trini Fry Bakes

I have adapted my recipe from several I’ve found on the internet, primarily Cooking with Ria and Triniinxisle. Some recipes use baking powder as the only rising agent and some either require yeast or list it as an optional ingredient. 

Ingredients

1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

3/4 cup or 180ml warm water

2 cups or 250g flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2-3 cups or 480-720ml canola or other light oil for frying

Method

Put the yeast in a small bowl with a pinch of sugar. Add a couple of tablespoons of the warm water and set aside to proof. The yeast should start to bubble up if it is active. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Add the butter and use your fingertips or a pastry blender to work it into the flour mixture. 

While stirring with a wooden spoon or Danish whisk, slowly add water into the flour and mix until the dough starts to leave the bowl’s sides. You may not need quite all the water. 

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface to knead for a few minutes. Or use a stand mixer instead of hand kneading. Knead the dough in the mixer for several minutes or until it starts to pull away from the sides.

Form the dough into a large ball in a bowl and cover the bowl with cling film or a plastic shower cap. Let it rest for a minimum of about 30 minutes. You can refrigerate for several hours or overnight. This helps to create a fluffier result.

When you are ready to fry the bakes, divide the dough into 8 small "golf" ball sized pieces. My dough weighed 498g so each ball weighed 62g.

On a lightly-floured surface, using your clean hands and/or a rolling pin to flatten the balls out into disks about 4x6 in or 10x15cm.

Pour oil into a medium sized pot on medium heat. For the most accurate judge of oil temperature, use a thermometer. Deep fry temperature is 380°F or 193°C.

I like to use as small a pot as will fit my bakes comfortably, one at a time, to minimize the amount of oil I have to use. I add just enough oil to reach my thermometer so I know that the temperature reading is accurate. 

When your oil reaches the correct temperature, put the bake in the hot oil. When it floats and turns golden on the bottom, quickly turn it over to brown the other side. This takes about 30-45 seconds on each side. I have seen recipes that shallow fry the dough but then how do you know when they float? My childhood experience is that the bakes were always deep fried. 

Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the fry bakes to a paper towel-lined plate. This helps absorb the excess oil. 

If you aren’t serving these hot as they come out of the oil, you can put the plate in a warm oven. 

Enjoy! 

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s time for my Bread Baker friends to share their recipes, Many thanks to our host today, Sneha of Sneha's Recipe who challenged us to make fry breads. Check out the links below:

• Mixed Flour Instant Bhatura from Sneha's Recipe
• Trini Fry Bakes from Food Lust People Love
• Tangzhong Doughnuts from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Banh Tieu from Magical Ingredients

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Trini Fry Bakes!

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Garlic Chili Pepper Flatbread #BreadBakers

Chewy yet fluffy, this garlic chili pepper flatbread is great on its own as a snack or serve it with your favorite dhal or curry. The garlic and chili add so much flavor to this tasty bread! 

Homemade flatbread is so easy and always turns out nicer than almost anything I can buy on store shelves. I know in a lot of homes around the world, it’s a normal part of everyday cooking but unless I’m cooking curry, I just don’t think to make it. 

Note to self: Make homemade flatbread more often! Note to anyone reading this: You should too. 

Garlic Chili Pepper Flatbread

This recipe makes six flatbreads (about 7x4 in or 18x10cm each) and was adapted from one on Taste.com.au. These little guys definitely have a noticeable heat from the peppers. You can remove the seeds before mincing your peppers to make them less spicy.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon dried active yeast

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 3/4 cups or 218g bread flour

3/4 cup or 180ml warm water (about 100–110°F or 38–43°C)

2 hot red chili peppers

3-4 sprigs fresh parsley, stems removed

2 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

2-3 tablespoons olive oil 

Method

Warm the water to the required temperature and measure your flour into a small bowl. 

In a large mixing bowl, mix the yeast and sugar together with about 1/4 of the flour and the warm water. Set aside 20 minutes until foamy.

Mince your peppers, parsley leaves and garlic.

Add them along with the salt to the remaining flour. Stir to combine.

Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and combine using a Danish whisk or your clean hands. 

Knead on a clean surface until smooth and elastic.

Transfer the dough to a greased bowl.

Cover with a tea towel or cling film, then leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Form the dough into a stout log, then cut into 6 equal pieces. The log just makes it easier to eyeball what six equal pieces should look like. 

If you prefer to use a scale, you can skip that step. My dough ball weighed 212g so each piece was about 68g. Roll them them into balls.

Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll one ball into an oval and brush it with olive oil. 

Roll it up from the short end into a tight tube. 

Use two hands to roll the tube longer and thinner.

Coil the tube into a circle like a snail.

Tuck the end under. Press down gently. 

Repeat until you have six little swirled dough balls. 

Starting with the first one you made, use the rolling pin to form it back into an oval.

Heat a griddle over a medium high heat and cook the flatbread until puffed on top and lightly browned on the bottom. 

Turn and cook the other side. This takes just a couple of minutes on each side. 

Flip it over one last time. 

I like to put the finished flatbreads in a warm oven in a foil pouch to keep them warm. 

Repeat the rolling and cooking process for the remaining five dough balls. Serve warm. (Or eat at room temperature the next day for breakfast - OMG, still so good.)

Enjoy!

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s time for my Bread Baker friends to share their recipes. Our theme is Spicy Breads with Peppers. Many thanks to our host, Radha of Magical Ingredients. Check out the links below: 

• Garlic Chili Pepper Flatbread from Food Lust People Love
• Hatch Chili and Gouda Sourdough from A Messy Kitchen
• Jalapeño Popper Pizza from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Radish Stuffed Calzone from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Pepper and Onion Spelt Flour Bread from Cook with Renu
• Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Red Chili Sourdough from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Sambal Oelek Milk Bread Buns from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Spicy Cheesy Bread from Passion Kneaded

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin this Garlic Chili Pepper Flatbread!

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Parbaked Gluten Free Pizza Crust #BreadBakers

Long proofing and the addition of baking powder ensure that this parbaked gluten free pizza crust is chewy, crunchy and able to support all the toppings you love.

Gluten free dough for something quick-baked like pizza is a challenge when regular pizza dough sets such a high standard of crunch, chewiness and texture. I like to add a little cornmeal to the dough – and use it when rolling it out to bake – which helps a lot. 

Is this the same as your favorite gluten-full pizza crust? Not exactly. But it’s darn close. The secret is partially baking it just so it rises but doesn’t really brown much. Parbaking the crust means that it retains its shape and texture, even when toppings are added. Best of all, parbaked crusts can be frozen or refrigerated for future pizza nights. 

Parbaked Gluten Free Pizza Crust

As per Serious Eats, 95°F or 35°C is the best temperature for yeast to multiply, but that's not quite warm enough for proofing active dry yeast. It needs the extra warmth to dissolve and become active. If you have a thermometer, employ it when warming your water to the specified temperature range.

Ingredients

2 ¼ teaspoons or 7g active dry yeast

1 cup or 240ml warm water (between 105-110°F or 40-43°C)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 ½ cups or 400g gluten free bread flour (with xanthan gum) plus extra for kneading (I used Freee White Bread Flour.) 

1/4 cup or 60g cornmeal plus extra for rolling out the pizza crust

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

5 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing on when baking

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Method

Warm the water to the correct temperature range. I like to use a microwaveable measuring vessel with quick zaps of the microwave but a small pot over a low flame will also work. 

Stir in the sugar and the yeast and leave to prove for five minutes. Your yeast should start frothing up, showing that it has been activated by the warm water. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. 

In another mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, vinegar and olive oil. 

Stir in the water/yeast mixture.

Add in the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients bowl.

 Mix them together with a wooden spoon or Danish whisk until a sticky dough forms. 

Cover with cling film or a shower cap and place somewhere warm for 2-3 hours. 

After the rising time is up, preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C and put the dough in fridge for 15 minutes to rest. This will make it easier to roll out.

Lightly flour a clean work surface and knead the dough with a good sprinkling of flour until it forms into a smooth ball. 

Avoid adding too much flour, just enough until a ball dough forms and the dough isn't as sticky.

Divide the dough into two even pieces. 

Sprinkle your work surface lightly with cornmeal and use a floured rolling pin to roll each piece of dough into a roughly 10 in or 25cm circle. 

Sprinkle a little more cornmeal on your baking pan and transfer the pizza crusts to a pan. Generously brush the top of the crusts with olive oil and bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven.

Remove from the oven. Leave to cool completely and then store in a refrigerator or freezer, well wrapped, until you are ready to add toppings and bake again. 

When ready to bake as pizza, add your favorite sauce and desired toppings. 

Bake in an oven preheated to 425°F or 218°C for about 8-12 minutes, perhaps just a little longer if your crust was in the freezer. 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes. 

Cut in slices to serve.

Enjoy!

It's the second Tuesday of the month which means it's time for my fellow Bread Bakers to share their recipes. Our theme today is gluten free pizza. Many thanks to our host, Renu of Cook with Renu. Check out the links:

• Instant Gluten-Free Millet Pizza: Cook with Renu
• Food Lust People Love: Parbaked Gluten Free Pizza Crust
• Sneha’s Recipe: Rice Pizza With Tandoori Chicken
• Karen's Kitchen Stories : Spicy Corn Pizza

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin this Parbaked Gluten Free Pizza Crust!

 .

Fluffy Multigrain Pancakes #BreadBakers

Made with whole wheat flour, cornmeal and rolled oats, these fluffy multigrain pancakes are nutty and nutritious, as well as delicious.

A few months ago my doctor told me that my bloodwork numbers weren’t great, in fact, she diagnosed pre-diabetes. Which frankly didn’t sound so much like a diagnosis as a warning. Shape up or pay the consequences later! 

Recipes like these fluffy multigrain pancakes are my small attempt to do better but the amazing thing is that I actually like them more than normal all white flour pancakes. They have so much more flavor! Not surprising, really, since I’ve always loved whole grain bread more than white. 

Fluffy Multigrain Pancakes

This recipe made 16 (4 in or 10cm) pancakes. Any leftovers can be reheated in a normal toaster which makes them a great option for busy weekday mornings. This recipe is adapted one from New York Times Cooking.

Ingredients

1 cup or 120g whole wheat/ wholemeal flour

¾ cup or 94g all-purpose flour

½ cup or 85g cornmeal

¼ cup or 30g rolled oats

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 3/4 cups Greek yogurt 

1/2 cup or 120ml milk

3 large eggs

¼ cup or 60ml canola oil 

For greasing the pancake griddle: butter

For serving:

Butter

Your favorite syrup

Method

In a large bowl, mix together whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, cornmeal, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt and milk. Whisk in the eggs and canola oil. 

Pour the yogurt/egg mixture into the flour mixture and fold well until fully incorporated.

Heat a griddle or large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. You can check to see if it’s hot by sprinkling a few drops of water on the surface. They should sizzle and evaporate immediately.

You'll notice that the batter starts to get fluffy in the bowl as the yogurt reacts with the baking powder and baking soda. When you scoop it out to make the pancakes, try not to knock the air out by stirring. This ensures that the pancakes are lovely and light. 

Add a little butter to the griddle and let it melt. Use a 1/3 cup measure to make pancakes with the batter, leaving enough room between them so you can turn the pancakes easily.  The batter is very thick so you may need to use the edge of the measuring cup to pat it out gently into a circle. 

Cook until about 2-3 minutes or until the last pancake added to the pan is browned on the bottom. Flip the first one first and so on, then cook the pancakes until they are golden on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Either transfer to a plate as they finish and serve immediately with syrup and more butter on top, if you like. Or, if everyone wants to eat together, fashion a large pouch out of foil and pop the pancakes in as they are done. Fold it closed to keep them warm until the next batch is ready. 

Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter to the griddle or pan as needed. 

We are syrup heathens from the south so we use the Pearl Milling (used to be Aunt Jemima) butter light syrup instead of real maple syrup. You can use your favorite syrup and I won’t judge. 

Enjoy! 

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s time for my fellow Bread Bakers to share their creations. Our theme today is mixed grains bread! Many thanks to our host Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories. Check out the links below: 

• Aromatic Multigrain Bread with Coriander and Fennel from A Messy Kitchen
• Dhapate - Multigrain Flatbread from Sneha’s Recipe
• Easiest Multigrain sourdough Bread from Zesty South Indian kitchen
• Fluffy Multigrain Pancakes from Food Lust People Love
• Multi-Grain Dinner Rolls from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Roasted Potato Multigrain Bread from What Smells So Good?
• Spelt, Barley, and White Wheat Rustic Loaf from Karen’s Kitchen Stories

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Fluffy Multigrain Pancakes!

 .