Ingredients
Bakes
- 400 gplain flour
- 2 teaspoonsbaking powder
- 1 teaspoonsalt
- 1 tablespoonsugar
- 50 gbutter, cold
- about 200 ml water
- oil, for frying
Saltfish
- 400 gsalted dried cod
- 1onion, sliced
- 2tomatoes, chopped
- 3garlic cloves, chopped
- 1sweet pepper, sliced
- 2spring onions, sliced
- 1wiri wiri or scotch bonnet pepper
- 1 sprigthyme
- 3 tablespoonsoil
- black pepper
To serve
- lime wedges
- pepper sauce
- hot tea or coffee
Directions
- Bake and saltfish is a Guyanese breakfast. Bakes are fried dough rounds, soft inside and golden outside. Salt cod came to the Caribbean through the Atlantic trade. It arrives stiff, pale and extremely salty.
- Rinse the surface salt off under running water. Put the fish in a large bowl of cold water. Refrigerate it and leave it for twenty-four hours. Taste a small flake to check the salt level. It should taste seasoned rather than harshly salty. Boil it in fresh water for ten minutes. Drain it, taste it, and boil it again if needed.
- Drain the soaked cod thoroughly. Simmer it in fresh water for ten minutes. Drain it and let it cool enough to handle. Flake the flesh off the skin and bones. Check carefully for small bones as you go. Shred it into fairly fine flakes. Put the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl. Whisk them together so the raising agent is spread evenly.
- Rub the cold butter into the flour with your fingertips. Work until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add water gradually and bring it into a soft dough. Stop as soon as it comes together. Knead it very briefly, for under a minute. Cover it and let it rest for fifteen minutes. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces. Roll each into a ball between your palms.
- Flatten each one into a disc about a centimetre thick. That helps the middle cook through evenly. Heat the oil in a wide frying pan. Fry the sliced onion until soft and golden. Give it a good eight minutes there.
- Add the garlic and the sweet pepper. Cook them for about three minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and the thyme. Let them break down for five minutes. Drop the whole hot pepper into the pan. Add the flaked saltfish and stir it through. Cook it for five minutes to bring it together. Add the spring onions near the end. Grind in plenty of black pepper.
- Taste it before adding any salt at all. The fish usually brings quite enough on its own. Pour oil into a deep pan to about five centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil. Heat the oil up to about 170C. Fry them for about four minutes on each side. They should puff and turn deep golden.
- Break one open to check the first batch. The inside should be cooked with no wet dough. Lift them onto a wire rack to drain. Serving it is always done hot. Steam should escape as you break it. Spoon the saltfish inside, or serve it alongside. Fish out the hot pepper before serving. Squeeze fresh lime over the fish. Put pepper sauce on the table. Hot tea or coffee is drunk with it.
Technique
- Salt cod reached the Caribbean through the Atlantic trade that supplied plantations with cheap preserved protein.
- Wiri wiri peppers are small round Guyanese chillies, very hot and distinctly fruity, and are sold frozen in Caribbean shops.
Substitutions
- Any salted white fish works in place of cod, and salted pollock is often cheaper.
- Scotch bonnet replaces wiri wiri, though the aroma is not quite the same.
Variations
- Some households bake the dough rather than frying it, giving a softer bake.
- Fry bake and float are related Trinidadian breads eaten the same way.
- A version with the saltfish cooked into a wetter sauce is common.
History
Fried dough with salt cod, a legacy of the Atlantic salt-fish trade that supplied Caribbean plantations with cheap preserved protein.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bake and saltfish?
Bake and saltfish is a breakfast from Guyana: fried dough rounds with sautéed salted cod. Fried dough with salt cod, a legacy of the Atlantic salt-fish trade that supplied Caribbean plantations with cheap preserved protein.
How long does Bake and saltfish take to make?
Bake and saltfish takes 20 minutes plus soaking the fish of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Bake and saltfish?
Yes, within limits. Any salted white fish works in place of cod, and salted pollock is often cheaper. Scotch bonnet replaces wiri wiri, though the aroma is not quite the same.
What is the most important thing to get right in Bake and saltfish?
Rinse the surface salt off under running water. Put the fish in a large bowl of cold water. Refrigerate it and leave it for twenty-four hours. Taste a small flake to check the salt level. It should taste seasoned rather than harshly salty. Boil it in fresh water for ten minutes. Drain it, taste it, and boil it again if needed.
