Powder bun

Ingredients

The dry

• 500 gplain flour
• 200 gsugar
• or brown sugar
• 4 teaspoonsbaking powder
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 2 teaspoonsground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoongrated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoonground clove
• 1/2 teaspoonground allspice

The coconut

• 200 gfresh grated coconut
• or 150 g desiccated
• moistened

The wet

• 120 gbutter or shortening
• melted
• 200 mlcoconut milk
• or evaporated milk
• 2eggs
• 1 teaspoonvanilla

Sometimes added

• 150 graisins
• grated zest of 1 orange

Directions

1. Mix it and bake it without delay. But it still should not sit about. Cover it with warm coconut milk. Let it soak for ten full minutes. Crack the coconut and grate the flesh. Grate it finely rather than coarsely. A thin brown skin sits on the flesh. Put the flour in a large bowl. Add the sugar and the salt to it. Add the baking powder and all the spices.
2. Whisk them all together thoroughly. The baking powder must be evenly spread. Whisk the dry mixture properly first. Stir the grated coconut through the flour. Rub it through with your fingers. Mixing the wet is the next stage.
3. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Add the melted butter to them. Add the coconut milk and vanilla. Combine the wet ingredients first. They then go into the dry all at once. Pour the wet into the dry mixture. Fold it together with a spoon.
4. Fold rather than beating it hard. Stop as soon as the flour disappears. Fold the raisins through at the end. Fold them in with a few turns only. The batter is already mixed enough.
5. Add a splash of milk if it is very stiff. Spoon mounds onto a lined tray. Use two spoons to shape each one. Make them all into rough rounds. Keep every one of them the same size.
6. Leave good wide gaps between them. Leave a few centimetres between them. Heat the oven to one hundred and eighty degrees. Bake them for about twenty-five minutes. A dense bun needs real baking time.
7. Lift them out onto a wire rack. The crumb sets firm as it cools. Serve tea or coffee alongside. Butter is sometimes spread on them. They keep four days in a sealed tin.

Technique

• Baking powder works chemically rather than biologically and starts releasing gas the moment it meets liquid, so there is no rising time at all — mix the batter and get it into the oven promptly, since waiting wastes the lift. Most baking powder is double acting, reacting again with heat, which gives a little forgiveness, but it should still not sit about.
• The bun is meant to be dense and close-textured, which is characteristic rather than a fault — a baking powder bun and a yeast bun are genuinely different breads. Fold the wet into the dry and stop the moment the flour disappears, since beating develops gluten and makes a quick bread tough and rubbery.
• Whisk the baking powder thoroughly through the dry mixture before anything else goes in, since a pocket of it tastes soapy and bitter.

Substitutions

• Desiccated coconut moistened in warm coconut milk for ten minutes stands in for fresh grated, which is moister and richer in oil.
• Some bakers press the batter into a tin and cut it into squares rather than spooning individual mounds; both are done, and individual buns are the common form.

Variations

• Rub the grated coconut through the flour with your fingers, which separates any clumps and coats it so it distributes evenly.
• Bake at a moderate one hundred and eighty degrees, since the sugar caramelises quickly and a hot oven browns the outside while the middle stays raw; test with a skewer rather than judging by colour.
• Let them cool at least twenty minutes on a rack, since the crumb sets as it cools and cutting them hot gives a gummy crumb.

History

A Belize City Creole bake leavened with baking powder rather than yeast, sold alongside creole bread and johnny cakes.

Frequently asked questions

What is Powder bun?

Powder bun is a bread & pastry from Belize: dense sweet coconut and spice bun sold from bakery windows. A Belize City Creole bake leavened with baking powder rather than yeast, sold alongside creole bread and johnny cakes.

How long does Powder bun take to make?

Powder bun takes 25 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 12 buns. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Powder bun?

Yes, within limits. Desiccated coconut moistened in warm coconut milk for ten minutes stands in for fresh grated, which is moister and richer in oil. Some bakers press the batter into a tin and cut it into squares rather than spooning individual mounds; both are done, and individual buns are the common form.

What is the most important thing to get right in Powder bun?

Mix it and bake it without delay. But it still should not sit about. Cover it with warm coconut milk. Let it soak for ten full minutes. Crack the coconut and grate the flesh. Grate it finely rather than coarsely. A thin brown skin sits on the flesh. Put the flour in a large bowl. Add the sugar and the salt to it. Add the baking powder and all the spices.