Rice bread

Ingredients

Base

• 500 grice flour
• 4very ripe bananas, mashed
• or 400 g mashed ripe plantain

Also

• 200 gsugar
• 3eggs
• 150 mlvegetable oil, or red palm oil for colour
• 200 mlwater or coconut milk

Spice

• 1 tspgrated nutmeg
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 1 tspground ginger
• 1 tspsalt
• 2 tspbaking powder

Optional

• 1 tspvanilla
• 80 graisins

To serve

• with butter
• or alongside pepper soup

Directions

1. Mash them completely smooth with a fork. Use fine rice flour rather than coarse ground rice. If yours is coarse, sift it and discard what will not pass.
2. Mix the rice flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and all the spices in a large bowl. Beat the eggs with the oil and water or coconut milk. Now combine the wet and dry ingredients with the mashed banana.
3. Beat it well for 2 or 3 minutes. Beating simply distributes everything evenly and helps the loaf hold together.
4. Add a little more liquid if it is too stiff, because rice flour absorbs a great deal. Judge it after a minute or two of standing, because rice flour keeps drinking liquid after mixing.
5. Fold in the raisins if you are using them. Pour into two greased and lined loaf tins. Bake at 175°C (345°F) for 45 to 50 minutes. Bake it lower and longer than a wheat loaf. Rice flour batter is dense and wet, and a hot oven browns the crust long before the centre is set.
6. Cover the tops loosely with foil after 30 minutes if they are colouring too fast. Test with a skewer, which should come out clean. Cool it fully before slicing, for the same reason.
7. Cut it thick with a serrated knife, sawing gently. The texture should be dense, moist and slightly sticky rather than light and open.

Technique

• Red palm oil in place of vegetable oil gives it an orange colour and a distinct flavour.
• Plantain in place of banana makes a less sweet and firmer loaf.
• It is naturally gluten free, which was never the point but is useful.

Substitutions

• Mashed ripe plantain in place of banana.
• Coconut milk in place of water, which is richer.

Variations

• Made with red palm oil.
• With more spice, which is common.
• Baked as small rounds rather than loaves.

History

Made with rice flour and mashed banana and baked for Christmas and for guests; rice is so central that Liberians equate eating rice with eating a meal.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rice bread?

Rice bread is a bread & pastry from Liberia: dense sweet loaf of rice flour and mashed banana. Made with rice flour and mashed banana and baked for Christmas and for guests; rice is so central that Liberians equate eating rice with eating a meal.

How long does Rice bread take to make?

Rice bread takes 20 min of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 2 loaves. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Rice bread?

Yes, within limits. Mashed ripe plantain in place of banana. Coconut milk in place of water, which is richer.

What is the most important thing to get right in Rice bread?

Mash them completely smooth with a fork. Use fine rice flour rather than coarse ground rice. If yours is coarse, sift it and discard what will not pass.