Homemade Agege Bread

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Nigerian

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 45

Rise Time: 2

Total Time: 3

Servings: servings

Calories: 174kcal

Author: Jazzmine Woodard

Soft and chewy Nigerian sweet bread made from scratch with simple ingredients

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Equipment

1 small saucepan
1 kitchen spoon or silicone spatula
1 food thermometer optional
2 mixing bowls
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.

Notes

Preparation

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!

If you find that the top of your loaf is browning too quickly and in danger of burning, tent a piece of aluminum foil over top.

Variations

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.

Storage

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.

To freeze, 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.

Nutrition