What’s so good about bread is that you just need a few ingredients to make something so necessary, tasty, homely, and somehow even spiritual. In the toughest of times, people survive on bread because you can make it with the most basic things, fire, flour, water, yeast, and salt. These are even not basic enough because you can make bread without yeast even. Anyway, every country has its own kinds of bread and so on, based on geography, history, and other factors.
Ledombolo is South African steamed bread, the word comes from literally translating the word dumpling into Sepedi and other South African languages. This bread is really tasty. You may find it at weddings and other gatherings, in many variations, ranging from herbs to whatever you may think of. I personally just like it plain, with butter just after cooling a bit, it’s amazingly good.
What to serve Ledombolo with
Unlike other kinds of bread, it’s like Ledombolo was made to be served with other things other than tea or to make a sandwich. The list is endless, but Ledombolo goes best with stews of any type. Some kind of magic when you have it with stew and the whole 7 colours (it’s a South African thing). This usually includes beetroot salad, chakalaka, pumpkin, green salad maybe, coleslaw, and a whole lot of other things. South Sfricans definitely know how to make their Sunday food.
And since I’m in Serbia, I usually make Ledombolo with goulash or chicken paprikash. To that, I add simple Serbian cabbage salad (which I absolutely love), beetroot, and pumpkin. This happens when I’m feeling nostalgic. Otherwise, I put it in the breadbin for everyone to have with whatever they wish, and it ususally doesnt last long. This bread is a must try, wherever you are, even just with butter it’s amazing.
Ledombolo (South African steamed bread)
Ingredients
- 5 Cups Flour
- 10 g Yeast
- 3 Tbsp. Sugar
- 1 Tsp. Salt
- 2 Cups Warm water
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients in a bowl
- Add a cup of water, mix with hands
- Gradually add the soconds cup, kneadinguntil its a nice soft dough
- Cover the bowl with a plate and towel, leave to rise for about an hour or until it has doubled
- Oil a metal or enamel bowl, add the dough and let it rise
- In the meantime, boil water
- when the dumpling has risen, put the bowl in a pot big enough
- Add boiling water reaching just under the bowl
- Steam the dumpling on medium heat checking from time to time that the water doesnt run out
- When the water is too little, add carefully on the side without pouring on the bread
- Steam until the dumpling bounces back when pressed, if picked up it should feel light. this may take just less than an hour
- take the bowl out of the pot and let the bread cool
- Remove carefully and enjoy
Notes
- Don’t check the dumpling too often while it’s steaming, you may open the pot at least 20 minutes after putting it on the stove. Just like when bread is in the oven, the same rule applies, the dumpling might deflate if the pot is opened too often. so, let it steam
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