Agege bread is a sweet, soft, buttery yeast bread that I personally find irresistible at any time of day. This popular treat is a staple in many Nigerian households because of its unmistakable taste and texture, and how versatile it is. Let me show you how to make Agege bread from scratch at home with my easy recipe.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my agege dinner rolls, too!
Jump to:
What is Agege bread?
Agege bread history actually begins with a Jamaican immigrant to Nigeria named Amos Shackleford. Shackleford came to be known as the "Bread King of Nigeria" after inventing the dough break, which created the super fluffy texture we know and love. Agege bread is called such because it originated in Agege, Lagos State.
This bread is mostly produced commercially so it's highly standardized. The bakery loaves are commonly baked in rectangular lidded pans so they are nearly flat on all sides. In addition to a distinctive shape, the agege bread taste is also unmistakable. It has straightforward sweet and buttery flavor with an almost cloud like texture.
❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Simple to Make - You won't need a bread machine or any special tools or technique to make this simple agege bread recipe. Even if you're new to making homemade bread, you can pull this off--just read my pro tips below!
Classic Taste - Growing up in Houston, Texas, we called it "Nigerian bread" or simply "sweet bread." Because it is, indeed, sweet...and dense, and pillowy! Super indulgent and it's so easy to break of a big chunk and just chew and enjoy with no regard for the nutritiional content. And this homemade version is all of that. One bite and you'll be in love.
I love cooking my way through the dishes of my father's homeland--some I grew up on and others I'm learning in adulthood--so I have plenty of Nigerian recipes for you to try next. Check out my jollof spaghetti recipe, Naija style scotch eggs, Nigerian meat pies, and efo elegusi, too. Don't forget zobo drink to wash it all down!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Bread Flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour. This results in more structure in the bread, giving it a nice, chewy texture. So don't substitute it with all-purpose flour!
Milk can be dairy milk or a plant-based milk like almond milk or oat milk. But I don't recommend buttermilk because of it's acidity which can throw off the chemistry in this recipe. Whichever milk you choose, make sure it's warm.
Instant Yeast makes this recipe quicker with no activation required. Look for yeast packets with the words "quick rise" or "instant" or "fast" on them.
Tangzhong is a mixture of water and bread flour and it makes Agege bread very fluffy and soft at home without a dough break tool. This ingredients also gives the bread a longer shelf life! I'll show you how to make it below.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Egg is optional for creating an egg wash on the bread as it bakes. This is not traditionally done when baking agege bread but will give it a nice glossy finish if you decide to include it.
Vegan - Yes, you can make vegan agege bread by using plant-based butter and milk in identical proportions to the written recipe! All of the other instructions remain the same.
How to Bake Agege Bread at Home
- Step One: Dissolve the flour in water on the stove top and cook and stir until the mixture becomes a thick paste. (Photos 1-2)
- Step Two: Mix together the bread flour, salt, sugar, and yeast then make a well in the middle of the bowl. (Photo 3)
- Step Three: Pour the milk, melted butter, and tangzhong into the well then mix until a slightly sticky dough forms. (Photo 4)
Pro Tip #1
Tangzhong is a paste made from flour and water that originates in China and helps give bread a super soft texture, higher rise, and allows it to keep longer. This is helpful when making bread at home since we aren't adding any artificial preservatives.
Pro Tip #2
You can tell the tangzhong is ready once it reaches a temperature of 150 degrees Farenheit as registered on a food thermometer and it has thickened so much that it doesn't immediately come back together when stirred--like in photo #2 above.
- Step Four: Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until it is soft and stretches easily. (Photos 5-7)
- Step Five: Shape dough into a ball then place in a bowl and cover with a damp towel to rest and rise. (Photo 8)
Pro Tip #3
Although bread dough made with tangzhong is much less sticky than typical yeast dough, I still recommend working on a floured surface and with floured hands for the very best results.
Pro Tip #4
Try to let the dough rise in a warm spot in your kitchen. Near a preheating oven is great or if there's a sunny spot from your kitchen window, that works, too!
- Step Six: Divide the dough into three or four pieces then shape them into balls, place in loaf pan, and cover then allow it to rise again. This is called proofing.(Photos 9-10)
- Step Seven: Bake the rolls until golden. (Photo 11)
Pro Tip #5
Though this bread is typically baked with three distinct sections that separate from each other easily, you can do more or fewer sections depending on the size of your loaf pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Because of the tangzhong, this bread will stay fresh at room temperature for up to five days. Beyond that, I recommend refrigerating in an airtight container up to three more days.
Yes, you can freeze it. I recommend separating the sections or slicing the bread and wrapping each piece in aluminum foil. Place the wrapped pieces in an airtight, freezer-safe container before freezing and they will keep for up to one month once frozen.
How to Serve
Agege bread pairs well with sweet, spicy, and savory flavors--it's a like a blank canvas. Serve it alongside fiery obe ata (Yoruba-style red stew) to sop up all the goodness or enjoy it for breakfast with eggs and corned beef and ewa agoyin.
More Favorite Bread Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy this recipe for Agege bread soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Homemade Agege Bread
Equipment
- 1 kitchen spoon or silicone spatula
- 1 food thermometer optional
- 1 loaf pan
Ingredients
For the Tangzhong
- ⅓ cup bread flour
- 1 cup water
For the Bread
- 4 ¼ cups bread flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 7 grams instant yeast one packet
- 1 ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup butter melted
- ¾ cup milk warm
Instructions
- Make the tangzhong: Stir together bread flour and water in a small saucepan over medium heat until flour is dissolved and mixture is smooth with no lumps. Continue stirring until mixture thickens and reaches 150 degrees Fahrenheit (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat, transfer to a mixing bowl, and cover.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, instant yeast, and sea salt then make a well in the middle of the bowl.
- Pour the tangzhong, warm milk, and melted butter into the well and mix with kitchen spoon until a tacky dough forms.
- Turn dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface then knead it for about 10 minutes or until dough is soft and elastic and easy to stretch.
- Shape dough into a ball and place back into mixing bowl then cover with a damp towel and set aside in a warm spot to rest and rise. Meanwhile, grease and flour loaf pan.
- Once the dough has roughly doubled in size (after about one hour), punch/press the middle of the dough to flatten out air and turn out onto floured surface.
- Separate dough into three or four equal pieces then roll each piece into a ball and place into prepared loaf pan.
- Cover pan with damp towel and allow to proof until doubled in size (about 40 minutes). Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit.
- Uncover pan then place on center oven rack and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. When done, the bread should have a firm texture and register about 190 degrees Farenheit on a food thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf.
Iris says
Can I use unbleached flour instead of bread flour?
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi Iris! I haven't made this recipe with unbleached (assuming all-purpose) flour. A couple of things to keep in mind if you decide to make this substitution: All-purpose flour has a lower protein content compared to bread flour, which means it doesn't typically develop as much gluten, and that translates to a softer dough and less chewy bread. Additionally, all-purpose flour doesn't usually absorb as much liquid as bread flour, so you'll want to start with about 2/3 the amount of liquid and add as needed. I hope this helps.
Kim says
Can you use a mixer with a dough attachment? At what point do you heat up the milk? Is that with the bread shs water mixture? Excited to try recipe!
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Kim! I have not made this recipe with a mixer so can't advise on that from experience but generally, the dough hook method is quicker so I would cut the kneading time in half if you decide to use it. You can either heat up the milk when you assemble your ingredients or during step one while making the tangzhong (in a separate container, of course). I hope this helps!