Ingredients
Dough
- 500 gstrong white flour
- 200 gmillet flour
- 150 gmaize flour
- 600 mlwarm water
- 10 ginstant yeast
- 16 gsalt
- 1 tbspsugar
- 2 tbspoil
To finish
- a little water, for the oven
Equipment
- a baking stone or heavy tray
- a very hot oven
To serve
- hot, wrapped in paper
- with ebbeh or nyambeh
- with fish or bean stew
Directions
- Mix all three flours with the yeast, salt and sugar, keeping the salt and yeast apart until the water goes in. Now add the warm water and the oil.
- Knead it longer than you would a wheat dough, because there is less gluten to develop and it needs all the help it can get. It will never become as smooth and elastic as a white dough, and that is normal.
- Prove for about 1 hour 30 minutes until well risen. Now heat the oven as hot as it will go, at least 240°C (465°F), with a stone inside for a full hour.
- Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Now shape each into a long thick baton, about 30 cm. Shape them thicker and stubbier than a baguette, since tapalapa is a substantial loaf rather than a slender one.
- Roll them tightly and seal the seam, because a slack shaping spreads flat. Set them on a floured board or couche and prove a further 40 minutes.
- Slash decisively and at a shallow angle, because a timid cut closes up and the loaf tears at the side instead. Slide them onto the hot stone. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until deep golden brown and hollow-sounding.
- Bake it properly dark. Tapalapa should have a genuinely thick chewy crust, and a pale loaf is underbaked. Cool it briefly on a rack before tearing. Serve it warm, torn by hand, wrapped in paper as it is sold. It keeps a day and goes hard quickly, and stale tapalapa is dunked in tea or soaked in stew.
Technique
- The grain proportions vary between bakeries and are not fixed.
- It is sold hot from small bakeries throughout the day.
- Senegalese versions are very similar.
Substitutions
- All wheat flour, which gives a lighter and much less characteristic loaf.
- Sorghum flour in place of millet.
Variations
- With more millet, for a denser loaf.
- Made shorter and rounder.
- Senegalese tapalapa, which is closely related.
History
A dense loaf of millet, maize and wheat flour baked in wood-fired clay ovens; it is the everyday Gambian bread, sold hot and wrapped in paper.
Frequently asked questions
What is Tapalapa?
Tapalapa is a bread & pastry from Gambia: dense chewy village baguette baked in clay ovens. A dense loaf of millet, maize and wheat flour baked in wood-fired clay ovens; it is the everyday Gambian bread, sold hot and wrapped in paper.
How long does Tapalapa take to make?
Tapalapa takes 30 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 loaves. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Tapalapa?
Yes, within limits. All wheat flour, which gives a lighter and much less characteristic loaf. Sorghum flour in place of millet.
What is the most important thing to get right in Tapalapa?
Knead it longer than you would a wheat dough, because there is less gluten to develop and it needs all the help it can get. It will never become as smooth and elastic as a white dough, and that is normal.
