Gateau farine

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gplain flour
• 300 mlwarm water
• or 300 ml warm milk
• 120 gsugar
• 10 gdried yeast
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 80 gbutter or margarine, melted
• 2eggs
• 1 teaspoonvanilla, optional
• a pinch of nutmeg, optional

To cook

• a little oil or butter, for the pan

To serve

• black coffee
• or sweet tea
• sold by the slice

Directions

1. Warm the water to just above body temperature. It should feel barely warm to a clean finger. Stir the yeast and a spoon of sugar into it. Let it stand for five minutes until it foams.
2. Start again with fresh yeast if so. Combining it takes only a moment. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the nutmeg if you want it. Whisk them together thoroughly. Add the yeasted liquid to the bowl.
3. Beat the eggs and add them in. Add the melted butter and vanilla. Bring it together into a soft dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface.
4. Knead it for a good eight minutes. It should become smooth and elastic. Put the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover it over with a clean cloth. Leave it somewhere warm to rise. It should roughly double in size.
5. Check it after forty-five minutes. Shaping it is quick enough work. Shape it all into a single round. Flatten it out to fit your pan. Aim for about three centimetres thick. Set it into a greased heavy pan. Cover it and leave it in the pan.
6. Let it rise for about thirty minutes. It should look visibly puffed. Set the pan over a very low heat. Put a tight fitting lid on it. Let it cook for about twenty minutes. Do not lift the lid for the first fifteen. Set another plate over it and flip it. Cook the second side for fifteen minutes. Judging when it is done takes a test.
7. Heat the oven to 180C before baking. Bake it for about thirty minutes. Turn it out onto a wire cooling rack. Let it cool for at least twenty minutes. Cutting it hot tears the crumb. Cut it into wedges like a cake. Wrap each slice in paper as the stalls do. It keeps three days if wrapped.

Technique

• It is cooked on a griddle under a lid rather than in an oven, since many households have no oven, and the trapped heat cooks the top.
• It sits between a bread and a cake, yeasted rather than raised with baking powder, and is only slightly sweet because it is meant to go with sweet coffee.
• It must cook slowly over very low heat, since high heat burns the base black while the middle stays raw.

Substitutions

• Milk in place of water gives a richer crumb.
• An oven at 180C works, though the griddled version has a better crust.

Variations

• Some stalls add nutmeg or vanilla to the dough.
• A version made with more sugar is sold as a sweeter cake.
• Similar griddled cakes are sold across West Africa under other names.

History

Sold by the slice at Guinean roadside stalls and bus stops as a cheap breakfast.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gateau farine?

Gateau farine is a bread & pastry from Guinea: round griddled wheat cake, plain and slightly sweet, eaten with coffee. Sold by the slice at Guinean roadside stalls and bus stops as a cheap breakfast.

How long does Gateau farine take to make?

Gateau farine takes 20 minutes plus rising of preparation and 35 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes one large cake. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Gateau farine?

Yes, within limits. Milk in place of water gives a richer crumb. An oven at 180C works, though the griddled version has a better crust.

What is the most important thing to get right in Gateau farine?

Let it rise for about thirty minutes. It should look visibly puffed. Set the pan over a very low heat. Put a tight fitting lid on it. Let it cook for about twenty minutes. Do not lift the lid for the first fifteen. Set another plate over it and flip it. Cook the second side for fifteen minutes. Judging when it is done takes a test.