Roosterkoek & Brown Bread
Two South African loaves that belong on every table — one grilled over open coals, one baked from the subsidized flour that fed a nation.
Roosterkoek – The Braai Bread
Roosterkoek (“grid cake”) is baked directly on the braai grill. Crispy crust, soft inside, perfect with butter, jam, or straight from the fire.
Classic Roosterkoek Recipe
- 500 g cake flour
- 10 g instant yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 300 ml lukewarm water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Mix dry ingredients. Add water and oil. Knead 8–10 min.
- Rise 1 hour. Divide into 8 balls. Flatten slightly.
- Rise 30 min. Grill over medium-low coals 15–20 min, turning often.
Brown Bread – The Subsidized Loaf
From the 1970s through the 1990s, whole-wheat brown bread was heavily subsidized — the daily bread of millions, including Elon Musk’s childhood table in Pretoria (Maye Musk: “We only ate brown bread”). Today the tradition continues with Shoprite’s R5 Bread Promise — a 800 g loaf for R5 nationwide.
Classic Home Brown Bread
- 500 g whole-wheat flour
- 10 g instant yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 350 ml lukewarm water
- 1 tbsp oil
- Mix dry ingredients. Add water and oil. Knead 10 min.
- Rise 1 hour. Shape into tin. Rise 30 min.
- Bake 200°C / 390°F for 35–40 min.
One loaf fed a family.
One roll crowned a braai.
This is South African bread.
