Recipes / Bread
Roosterkoek
Soft bread rolls baked directly on the grid over gentle coals, split and eaten hot with butter.
- Coals
- Low coals
- Prep
- 25 min
- On the fire
- 20 min
- Plan ahead
- 1 1/2 hours rising
- Serves
- 12 rolls
Ingredients
- 500 g (4 cups) white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
- 7 g (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoons oil
- Butter and apricot jam to serve
Method
- Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add the water and oil and mix to a soft dough.
- Knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and springs back when pressed.
- Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour, until doubled in size.
- Press the air out. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and shape each into a flat square about 2 cm (3/4 inch) thick.
- Place them on a floured tray, cover with a cloth, and leave for 20 to 30 minutes until puffy.
- Brush the grid clean. Cook the rolls over low coals for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every few minutes.
- Split them open while hot and serve with butter, or butter and apricot jam.
Done when: the rolls have risen, both sides are golden with dark grid marks, and they sound hollow when tapped.
Tips
- The coals must be gentle. Too hot, and the outside burns while the middle stays doughy.
- Flour the rolls well so they do not stick, and make sure the grid is clean and dry.
- Start them before the meat. The dough rises while the fire burns down, and the rolls can cook at the cooler side of the grid.
Roosterkoek means grid cake. It is plain bread dough cooked on the grid, and it comes off the fire with a crisp crust and a soft, slightly smoky middle.